Amherst College vs Swarthmore

Amherst College and Swarthmore College, two highly selective liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Amherst, located in the picturesque town of Amherst, Massachusetts, boasts a slightly higher acceptance rate (13.6%) compared to Swarthmore's (9.5%). Both colleges prioritize undergraduate education, with Swarthmore having a slightly smaller student body, fostering a close-knit community. While Amherst students pursue diverse majors, popular choices include Economics, English, and Political Science. Swarthmore students, on the other hand, often gravitate towards majors like Engineering, Computer Science, and Economics. Both institutions boast impressive graduation rates, with Amherst's at 94% and Swarthmore's at 93%. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two exceptional colleges.

	Amherst College	Swarthmore College
Overview
Location	Amherst, Massachusetts	Swarthmore, 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%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.7%	7.8%
Application fees	$60	$60
SAT range	1370 - 1550	1430 - 1560
ACT range	32 - 34	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	36.0%	39.0%
Students submitting ACT score	31.0%	21.0%
Total number of applicants	13,999	13,012
Total number of admissions given out	1,224	1,013
Admitted students who chose to enroll	515	454
Yield rate	42.1%	44.8%
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	$75,793
Average net price	$18,809	$19,733
Tuition	$60,700	$55,856
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,700 Meal plan: $7,400	Room/dormitory: $8,796 Meal plan: $8,354
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	61.0% Average amount $58,644	76.0% Average amount $40,072
Students receiving federal student loan	10.0% Average amount $5,233	6.0% Average amount $5,191
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $16,803	1.0% Average amount $30,543

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,971 Men 48.6% Women 51.4%	1,651 Men 49.7% Women 50.3%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	89.9%
International students	10.4%	15.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,000	1,605
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 York California Pennsylvania New Jersey Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics Biological and Biomedical Sciences Ethnic Studies	Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science Engineering Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	92.4%	94.1%
Dropout rate	2.5%	5.7%
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	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $97,897 Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $113,966 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,029 Year 2: $81,702 Year 3: $88,391 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,119 Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $44,841 Education, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $42,944 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,425 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $36,220 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,963 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,964 Year 2: $125,015 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $43,426 Year 3: N/A

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