Carleton College vs Wesleyan University

Carleton College and Wesleyan University, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Carleton, located in Northfield, Minnesota, boasts a lower acceptance rate (22.5%) compared to Wesleyan's (29.3%) in Middletown, Connecticut. Carleton's student body is slightly larger, with an undergraduate enrollment of 2,100 students, while Wesleyan's is around 2,900. Both institutions offer a diverse range of majors, with popular choices at Carleton including Economics, Biology, and Political Science, and at Wesleyan including Psychology, Economics, and English. Carleton's graduation rate stands at 89%, while Wesleyan's is slightly higher at 91%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two exceptional institutions and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Carleton College	Wesleyan University
Overview
Location	Northfield, Minnesota	Middletown, Connecticut
Campus setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Trimester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	95.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	17.5%	19.4%
Application fees		$55
SAT range	1408 - 1550	1300 - 1510
ACT range	31 - 35	31 - 34
Students submitting SAT score	35.0%	51.0%
Students submitting ACT score	34.0%	27.0%
Total number of applicants	7,915	13,067
Total number of admissions given out	1,389	2,540
Admitted students who chose to enroll	555	910
Yield rate	40.0%	35.8%
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	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$78,315	$82,245
Average net price	$31,718	$20,535
Tuition	$59,850	$61,449
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,115 Meal plan: $7,260	$17,531
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	65.0% Average amount $45,715	40.0% Average amount $58,925
Students receiving federal student loan	45.0% Average amount $3,914	18.0% Average amount $3,834
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $14,334	2.0% Average amount $27,881

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,044 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%	3,385 Men 43.8% Women 56.2%
Graduate students	N/A	196 Men 42.3% Women 57.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	81.5%	90.3%
International students	10.2%	11.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	1,854	3,063
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Minnesota California Illinois New York Texas	New York California Connecticut New Jersey Pennsylvania

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

Outcome
Graduation rate	91.4%	91.0%
Dropout rate	8.3%	3.6%
Transferred out	N/A	5.3%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $53,847 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,232 Year 2: $36,334 Year 3: $45,541

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Carleton College vs Wesleyan University

Carleton College

Wesleyan University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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