Ave Maria vs Wheaton College

Ave Maria University and Wheaton College, both rooted in strong religious affiliations, offer distinct educational experiences. Ave Maria, a Catholic university in Florida, boasts a 98% acceptance rate, while Wheaton, a Christian liberal arts college in Illinois, maintains a more selective admissions process with a 68% acceptance rate. Ave Maria's student body is predominantly female, with a 64% female-to-36% male ratio, while Wheaton's student body is more evenly balanced, with a 52% female-to-48% male ratio. Both institutions offer a range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors at Ave Maria including nursing, biology, and business administration, and popular majors at Wheaton including psychology, business, and biblical and theological studies. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and similarities between these two faith-based institutions, helping you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Ave Maria University	Wheaton College
Overview
Location	Ave Maria, Florida	Wheaton, Illinois
Campus setting	Rural: Distant	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 and Graduate
Students retention rate	76.0%	89.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Catholic	Undenominational

Admission
Acceptance rate	64.0%	86.3%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $30
SAT range	N/A	1250 - 1430
ACT range	N/A	27 - 32
Students submitting SAT score		32.0%
Students submitting ACT score		25.0%
Total number of applicants	3,705	1,993
Total number of admissions given out	2,373	1,719
Admitted students who chose to enroll	377	546
Yield rate	15.9%	31.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$41,977	$54,700
Average net price	$18,643	$28,319
Tuition	$23,521	$40,570
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,562 Meal plan: $5,528	Room/dormitory: $6,640 Meal plan: $4,660
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $21,230	91.0% Average amount $23,469
Students receiving federal student loan	55.0% Average amount $5,696	52.0% Average amount $5,169
Students taking out private loans	9.0% Average amount $11,852	5.0% Average amount $15,404

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,259 Men 45.1% Women 54.9%	2,341 Men 44.9% Women 55.1%
Graduate students	43 Men 69.8% Women 30.2%	706 Men 34.6% Women 65.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	1.3%	5.9%
Campus local/setting	Rural: Distant	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,244	2,153
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Theology Social Sciences Education	Psychology Theology Education Health Professions Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	18:1	11:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	60.9%	87.6%
Dropout rate	39.1%	3.1%
Transferred out	N/A	9.1%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,648 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $36,766 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,250 Year 3: $34,401 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,800 Year 2: $30,988 Year 3: $30,767 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,762 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Theological and Ministerial Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,775 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: N/A Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $48,041 Year 3: N/A	Business/Managerial Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,492 Year 2: $48,667 Year 3: $61,559 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,982 Year 2: $37,748 Year 3: $48,761 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $37,694 Year 2: $39,009 Year 3: $48,539 Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $30,613 Year 2: $33,459 Year 3: $41,661 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,251 Year 2: $37,856 Year 3: $41,339 Theological and Ministerial Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $38,767 Year 2: $39,049 Year 3: $38,775 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $35,864 Year 3: $36,928 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,471 Year 2: $27,126 Year 3: $34,682 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,825 Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $32,867 Religious Education (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $31,289

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.

Ave Maria

Azusa Pacific University