Carleton College vs Bates College

Carleton College and Bates College, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions in the northeastern United States, offer distinct educational experiences. Carleton, located in Northfield, Minnesota, boasts a slightly higher acceptance rate (23.5% vs. 14.6%) and a larger student body (2,100 vs. 1,800). Bates, situated in Lewiston, Maine, is known for its strengths in the humanities and social sciences, while Carleton excels in the natural sciences and engineering. Both colleges offer a diverse range of majors, with popular choices at Carleton including biology, economics, and computer science, and popular majors at Bates including English, psychology, and economics. Carleton's student body is slightly more diverse, with 45% students of color compared to Bates' 38%. Both institutions boast impressive graduation rates, with Carleton at 93% and Bates at 92%. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive

	Bates College	Carleton College
Overview
Location	Lewiston, Maine	Northfield, Minnesota
Campus setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	4-1-4	Trimester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	92.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	17.3%	17.5%
Application fees	$60
SAT range	N/A	1408 - 1550
ACT range	N/A	31 - 35
Students submitting SAT score		35.0%
Students submitting ACT score		34.0%
Total number of applicants	7,319	7,915
Total number of admissions given out	1,267	1,389
Admitted students who chose to enroll	553	555
Yield rate	43.6%	40.0%
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	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$77,870	$78,315
Average net price	$26,231	$31,718
Tuition	$59,062	$59,850
Room & board	$16,658	Room/dormitory: $8,115 Meal plan: $7,260
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	36.0% Average amount $50,509	65.0% Average amount $45,715
Students receiving federal student loan	12.0% Average amount $4,182	45.0% Average amount $3,914
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $23,825	2.0% Average amount $14,334

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,821 Men 48.6% Women 51.4%	2,044 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	81.5%
International students	8.7%	10.2%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	1,816	1,854
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Minnesota California Illinois New York Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Foreign Languages and Literatures Psychology	Physical Science Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Mathematics and Statistics Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	91.7%	91.4%
Dropout rate	2.3%	8.3%
Transferred out	5.8%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,768 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $73,497 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $51,273 Year 3: $55,661 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,568 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $53,638 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,883 Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: $35,020 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,192 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,170 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,112 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,731 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,657 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,876 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $101,936 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,032 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $66,207 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,526 Year 2: $23,034 Year 3: $30,071 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,669 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,425 Year 2: $22,329 Year 3: N/A Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,952 Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: N/A Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,227 Year 2: $36,141 Year 3: N/A Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,625 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Physics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $42,774 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,301 Year 2: $33,719 Year 3: N/A

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