Central College vs Lafayette College

Central College and Lafayette College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Central College, nestled in the heart of Pella, Iowa, prides itself on its small, close-knit community, with an acceptance rate of 98% and an average class size of 18. Lafayette College, situated in the vibrant city of Easton, Pennsylvania, boasts a more selective admissions process, with an acceptance rate of 34% and an average class size of 20. While both colleges offer a diverse range of academic programs, Central College is known for its strengths in the liberal arts and sciences, while Lafayette College excels in engineering, business, and the humanities. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about the unique characteristics of each institution, including student body demographics, popular majors, graduation rates, and more, to help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Central College	Lafayette College
Overview
Location	Pella, Iowa	Easton, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Town: 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	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	79.0%	91.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Protestant	Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	74.5%	40.7%
Application fees	$25	$65
SAT range	1000 - 1260	1300 - 1460
ACT range	19 - 25	30 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	10.0%	28.0%
Students submitting ACT score	67.0%	13.0%
Total number of applicants	2,202	8,262
Total number of admissions given out	1,641	3,366
Admitted students who chose to enroll	340	782
Yield rate	20.7%	23.2%
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	$34,302	$75,934
Average net price	$22,966	$38,754
Tuition	$19,250	$55,874
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,892 Meal plan: $5,660	Room/dormitory: $10,308 Meal plan: $6,362
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $10,353	61.0% Average amount $34,668
Students receiving federal student loan	73.0% Average amount $5,605	26.0% Average amount $4,491
Students taking out private loans	13.0% Average amount $12,712	7.0% Average amount $23,831

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,139 Men 51.3% Women 48.7%	2,725 Men 51.2% Women 48.8%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	82.6%
International students	0.1%	7.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,405	2,510
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Mississippi Connecticut

Academics
Popular study areas	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Communication and Journalism Education Business English Language and Literature	Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Social Sciences Physical Science Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	66.1%	87.9%
Dropout rate	2.5%	2.5%
Transferred out	31.0%	9.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $53,045 Year 3: $57,439 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,169 Year 2: $44,542 Year 3: $50,519 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,119 Year 3: $48,234 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,721 Year 3: $41,814 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $36,848 Year 3: $40,707 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: $37,077 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,314 Year 3: $33,927 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $46,790 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,508 Year 3: N/A	Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,532 Year 2: $68,379 Year 3: $80,306 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,033 Year 2: $65,238 Year 3: $78,021 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $77,247 Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: $76,714 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,784 Year 2: $65,486 Year 3: $76,536 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,714 Year 2: $72,403 Year 3: $75,320 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,927 Year 2: $58,943 Year 3: $72,455 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,229 Year 2: $48,198 Year 3: $60,266 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,408 Year 2: $44,468 Year 3: $57,092 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,680 Year 2: $32,391 Year 3: $50,156 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,170 Year 3: $48,201

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Central College vs Lafayette College

Central College

Lafayette College

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Admission

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Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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