Carthage College vs Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU)

Carthage College and Illinois Wesleyan University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Carthage, a private liberal arts college in Kenosha, Wisconsin, boasts a 70% acceptance rate and a student body of around 2,500 undergraduates. Illinois Wesleyan, a private liberal arts university in Bloomington, Illinois, has a slightly lower acceptance rate of 65% and a larger student body of over 2,800 undergraduates. While both institutions offer a wide range of academic programs, Carthage is known for its strengths in the natural sciences, social sciences, and business, while Illinois Wesleyan excels in the humanities, fine arts, and social sciences. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about the differences in acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, graduation rates, and other key factors that can help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Carthage College	Illinois Wesleyan University
Overview
Location	Kenosha, Wisconsin	Bloomington, Illinois
Campus setting	Suburb: Midsize	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	4-1-4	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	73.0%	85.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Evangelical

Admission
Acceptance rate	75.7%	45.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $35 Graduate: $35
SAT range	980 - 1200	1110 - 1310
ACT range	20 - 27	24 - 29
Students submitting SAT score	20.0%	33.0%
Students submitting ACT score	39.0%	31.0%
Total number of applicants	8,639	4,543
Total number of admissions given out	6,539	2,055
Admitted students who chose to enroll	763	432
Yield rate	11.7%	21.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$49,000	$67,124
Average net price	$26,643	$30,610
Tuition	$33,000	$52,308
Room & board	$12,400	Room/dormitory: $7,584 Meal plan: $4,528
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $18,544	100.0% Average amount $34,810
Students receiving federal student loan	71.0% Average amount $5,205	68.0% Average amount $5,692
Students taking out private loans	16.0% Average amount $15,990	35.0% Average amount $6,781

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,635 Men 43.8% Women 56.2%	1,653 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%
Graduate students	111 Men 41.4% Women 58.6%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	1.4%	3.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Midsize	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	1,817	1,308
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	Education Health Professions Business Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Visual & Performing Arts	Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences Health Professions Education Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	13:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	68.0%	81.1%
Dropout rate	32.0%	18.7%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,296 Year 2: $53,537 Year 3: $65,252 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,636 Year 2: $52,524 Year 3: $60,729 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,987 Year 2: $49,615 Year 3: $58,626 Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,342 Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $57,509 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,583 Year 2: $46,357 Year 3: $54,282 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,792 Year 2: $37,856 Year 3: $53,964 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,906 Year 2: $33,565 Year 3: $46,473 Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,624 Year 2: $41,193 Year 3: $45,143 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,848 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $43,954 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,255 Year 2: $32,563 Year 3: $41,675	Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,305 Year 2: $53,358 Year 3: $77,743 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,838 Year 2: $62,792 Year 3: $73,001 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,460 Year 2: $62,775 Year 3: $69,764 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,302 Year 2: $50,356 Year 3: $56,336 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,739 Year 3: $46,139 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,272 Year 2: $31,314 Year 3: $39,988 Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $18,075 Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $30,321 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: N/A Music (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $27,439 Year 3: N/A Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $36,674 Year 3: N/A

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