Amherst College vs Smith College

Amherst College and Smith College, two prestigious liberal arts institutions in Massachusetts, offer distinct educational experiences. Amherst, a coeducational college, boasts a lower acceptance rate (10.4%) compared to Smith's (34.5%), indicating a more selective admissions process. While both colleges excel in the humanities and social sciences, Amherst is known for its strong economics and political science programs, while Smith is renowned for its exceptional offerings in the arts, particularly music and theater. Explore the detailed comparison table to delve into further differences, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and additional academic strengths, to determine which college aligns best with your aspirations and goals.

	Amherst College	Smith College
Overview
Location	Amherst, Massachusetts	Northampton, Massachusetts
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 and Graduate
Students retention rate	98.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.7%	29.9%
Application fees	$60	$60
SAT range	1370 - 1550	1370 - 1530
ACT range	32 - 34	31 - 34
Students submitting SAT score	36.0%	34.0%
Students submitting ACT score	31.0%	20.0%
Total number of applicants	13,999	6,064
Total number of admissions given out	1,224	1,814
Admitted students who chose to enroll	515	676
Yield rate	42.1%	37.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$80,050	$68,128
Average net price	$18,809	$29,569
Tuition	$60,700	$55,830
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,700 Meal plan: $7,400	Room/dormitory: $9,700 Meal plan: $9,720
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	70.0% Average amount $44,108
Students receiving federal student loan	10.0% Average amount $5,233	35.0% Average amount $3,560
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $16,803	5.0% Average amount $8,280

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,971 Men 48.6% Women 51.4%	2,566 Men 0.1% Women 99.9%
Graduate students	N/A	358 Men 16.2% Women 83.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	10.4%	13.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,000	2,519
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	Mississippi New York California Connecticut Maryland

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics Biological and Biomedical Sciences Ethnic Studies	Public Administration and Social Service Engineering Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	92.4%	91.0%
Dropout rate	2.5%	3.6%
Transferred out	3.6%	5.1%
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	Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,496 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $70,990 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $47,650 Year 3: $56,651 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,011 Year 2: $45,554 Year 3: $53,962 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $46,620 Year 3: $53,886 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $42,098 Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $48,619 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,776 Year 2: $39,153 Year 3: $43,120 Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,839 Year 3: $41,147 Research and Experimental Psychology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,006 Year 2: $18,566 Year 3: $41,145 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,954 Year 2: $28,019 Year 3: $40,411 Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $34,603 Year 3: $38,497

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Amherst College vs Smith College

Amherst College

Smith College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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