Amherst College vs Principia College

Amherst College and Principia College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Amherst, a liberal arts college in Massachusetts, boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 13.2%, while Principia, a Christian Science college in Illinois, maintains a more accessible acceptance rate of 75%. Amherst's student body is diverse, with 48% identifying as students of color, while Principia's student body is predominantly white, with only 10% identifying as students of color. Both colleges offer a range of popular majors, with Amherst excelling in social sciences, biological sciences, and English, and Principia excelling in business, education, and health professions. With a graduation rate of 94%, Amherst ensures that its students are well-prepared for their future endeavors, while Principia's graduation rate of 68% reflects its commitment to providing a supportive learning environment. Explore the comparison table below to delve deeper

	Amherst College	Principia College
Overview
Location	Amherst, Massachusetts	Elsah, Illinois
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Rural: Fringe
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%	81.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.7%	84.1%
Application fees	$60
SAT range	1370 - 1550	1028 - 1193
ACT range	32 - 34	21 - 28
Students submitting SAT score	36.0%	30.0%
Students submitting ACT score	31.0%	13.0%
Total number of applicants	13,999	138
Total number of admissions given out	1,224	116
Admitted students who chose to enroll	515	79
Yield rate	42.1%	68.1%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$80,050	$42,820
Average net price	$18,809	$19,816
Tuition	$60,700	$29,970
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,700 Meal plan: $7,400	Room/dormitory: $5,810 Meal plan: $6,460
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	61.0% Average amount $58,644	94.0% Average amount $25,174
Students receiving federal student loan	10.0% Average amount $5,233	0.0% Average amount $0
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $16,803	94.0% Average amount $2,016

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,971 Men 48.6% Women 51.4%	321 Men 53.0% Women 47.0%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	92.7%
International students	10.4%	24.3%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Rural: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	2,000	585
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York California New Jersey Connecticut Pennsylvania	Missouri California Texas Illinois Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics Biological and Biomedical Sciences Ethnic Studies	Visual & Performing Arts Communication and Journalism Computer and Information Science Social Sciences Business
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	5:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	92.4%	85.9%
Dropout rate	2.5%	14.1%
Transferred out	3.6%	N/A
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	N/A

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Amherst College vs Principia College

Amherst College

Principia College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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