Amherst College vs Lafayette College

Amherst College and Lafayette College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Amherst, nestled in the heart of the Pioneer Valley, boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 13.2%, while Lafayette, situated in the vibrant Lehigh Valley, welcomes a slightly larger proportion of applicants with an acceptance rate of 34.6%. Amherst's student body is more diverse, with international students comprising 14.5% of the population compared to Lafayette's 6.9%. While both colleges excel in the humanities and social sciences, Amherst is renowned for its strength in economics, political science, and English, while Lafayette shines in engineering, biology, and psychology. With graduation rates of 94% and 88% respectively, both institutions ensure that their students are well-prepared for their post-graduate endeavors. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these exceptional colleges and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal

	Amherst College	Lafayette College
Overview
Location	Amherst, Massachusetts	Easton, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	98.0%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.7%	40.7%
Application fees	$60	$65
SAT range	1370 - 1550	1300 - 1460
ACT range	32 - 34	30 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	36.0%	28.0%
Students submitting ACT score	31.0%	13.0%
Total number of applicants	13,999	8,262
Total number of admissions given out	1,224	3,366
Admitted students who chose to enroll	515	782
Yield rate	42.1%	23.2%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$80,050	$75,934
Average net price	$18,809	$38,754
Tuition	$60,700	$55,874
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,700 Meal plan: $7,400	Room/dormitory: $10,308 Meal plan: $6,362
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	61.0% Average amount $58,644	61.0% Average amount $34,668
Students receiving federal student loan	10.0% Average amount $5,233	26.0% Average amount $4,491
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $16,803	7.0% Average amount $23,831

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,971 Men 48.6% Women 51.4%	2,725 Men 51.2% Women 48.8%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	82.6%
International students	10.4%	7.8%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,000	2,510
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York California New Jersey Connecticut Pennsylvania	New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Mississippi Connecticut

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics Biological and Biomedical Sciences Ethnic Studies	Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Social Sciences Physical Science Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	92.4%	87.9%
Dropout rate	2.5%	2.5%
Transferred out	3.6%	9.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $78,775 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $94,870 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,970 Year 2: $67,660 Year 3: $85,992 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,271 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $84,030 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $53,743 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,419 Year 2: $48,432 Year 3: $46,160 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,744 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $36,173 Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,896 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $96,310 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: N/A Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: N/A	Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,532 Year 2: $68,379 Year 3: $80,306 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,033 Year 2: $65,238 Year 3: $78,021 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $77,247 Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: $76,714 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,784 Year 2: $65,486 Year 3: $76,536 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,714 Year 2: $72,403 Year 3: $75,320 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,927 Year 2: $58,943 Year 3: $72,455 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,229 Year 2: $48,198 Year 3: $60,266 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,408 Year 2: $44,468 Year 3: $57,092 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,680 Year 2: $32,391 Year 3: $50,156 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,170 Year 3: $48,201

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Amherst College vs Lafayette College

Amherst College

Lafayette College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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