Amherst College vs Washington and Lee

Amherst College and Washington and Lee University, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Amherst, a highly selective college in Massachusetts, boasts an acceptance rate of 13.2% and a student body of 1,851 undergraduates. Washington and Lee, located in Virginia, has a slightly higher acceptance rate of 20.5% and a larger undergraduate population of 2,268. While Amherst excels in the social sciences, Washington and Lee is known for its strong business and pre-law programs. Both institutions boast impressive graduation rates, with Amherst at 94% and Washington and Lee at 92%. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these two exceptional colleges and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Amherst College	Washington and Lee University
Overview
Location	Amherst, Massachusetts	Lexington, Virginia
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	98.0%	96.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.7%	18.8%
Application fees	$60	$60
SAT range	1370 - 1550	1410 - 1530
ACT range	32 - 34	32 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	36.0%	26.0%
Students submitting ACT score	31.0%	32.0%
Total number of applicants	13,999	6,621
Total number of admissions given out	1,224	1,248
Admitted students who chose to enroll	515	484
Yield rate	42.1%	38.8%
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	$80,300
Average net price	$18,809	$26,063
Tuition	$60,700	$58,260
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,700 Meal plan: $7,400	Room/dormitory: $8,600 Meal plan: $7,670
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan Other alternative tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	61.0% Average amount $58,644	56.0% Average amount $51,537
Students receiving federal student loan	10.0% Average amount $5,233	13.0% Average amount $4,878
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $16,803	6.0% Average amount $25,474

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,971 Men 48.6% Women 51.4%	1,857 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%
Graduate students	N/A	381 Men 48.8% Women 51.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	81.2%
International students	10.4%	5.0%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	2,000	1,520
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	Virginia North Carolina Texas New York Georgia

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics Biological and Biomedical Sciences Ethnic Studies	Legal Profession Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Physical Science
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	92.4%	93.6%
Dropout rate	2.5%	6.2%
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	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,231 Year 2: $56,641 Year 3: $85,103 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $63,586 Year 2: $72,642 Year 3: $83,304 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $66,449 Year 3: $79,551 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $69,951 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,643 Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $68,713 Journalism (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $54,059 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,231 Year 2: $41,007 Year 3: $45,285 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $91,744 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,593 Year 3: N/A History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,409 Year 3: N/A

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Amherst College

Claremont McKenna College