Arcadia University vs Swarthmore

Arcadia University and Swarthmore College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Arcadia, with an acceptance rate of 75%, welcomes a diverse student body, while Swarthmore's highly selective admissions process results in an acceptance rate of only 10%. Both universities boast impressive graduation rates, with Arcadia's at 70% and Swarthmore's at 94%. While Arcadia's popular majors include nursing, business, and psychology, Swarthmore's strengths lie in the liberal arts and sciences. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two exceptional institutions. Explore the data and discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Arcadia University	Swarthmore College
Overview
Location	Glenside, Pennsylvania	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 and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	77.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	82.4%	7.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $50	$60
SAT range	1080 - 1280	1430 - 1560
ACT range	22 - 27	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	30.0%	39.0%
Students submitting ACT score	5.0%	21.0%
Total number of applicants	5,636	13,012
Total number of admissions given out	4,645	1,013
Admitted students who chose to enroll	390	454
Yield rate	8.4%	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	$70,220	$75,793
Average net price	$26,949	$19,733
Tuition	$45,520	$55,856
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,000 Meal plan: $5,170	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)	98.0% Average amount $27,414	76.0% Average amount $40,072
Students receiving federal student loan	71.0% Average amount $5,318	6.0% Average amount $5,191
Students taking out private loans	17.0% Average amount $15,721	1.0% Average amount $30,543

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,832 Men 33.9% Women 66.1%	1,651 Men 49.7% Women 50.3%
Graduate students	1,232 Men 23.7% Women 76.3%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	40.5%	89.9%
International students	2.2%	15.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,036	1,605
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Pennsylvania New Jersey New York Virginia Connecticut	New York California Pennsylvania New Jersey Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Psychology Biological and Biomedical Sciences Business	Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science Engineering Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	61.8%	94.1%
Dropout rate	6.4%	5.7%
Transferred out	31.5%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Public Health (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $77,715 Year 3: $109,812 Genetics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $73,321 Year 3: $82,507 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $71,130 Year 2: $72,163 Year 3: $75,972 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,965 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $61,795 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $56,977 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $56,813 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,129 Year 2: $50,677 Year 3: $53,310 International Business (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,105 Year 2: $43,000 Year 3: $50,335 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,830 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $47,025 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,274 Year 2: $28,443 Year 3: $44,234	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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