Central College vs Union College

Central College and Union College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Central College, nestled in the heart of Pella, Iowa, boasts a tight-knit community with a focus on personalized attention and undergraduate research opportunities. Union College, situated in Schenectady, New York, prides itself on its rigorous liberal arts curriculum and Division I athletics. While both colleges share a commitment to academic excellence, they differ in acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Central College	Union College
Overview
Location	Pella, Iowa	Schenectady, New York
Campus setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Trimester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	79.0%	91.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Protestant

Admission
Acceptance rate	74.5%	47.0%
Application fees	$25	$60
SAT range	1000 - 1260	1270 - 1450
ACT range	19 - 25	28 - 32
Students submitting SAT score	10.0%	37.0%
Students submitting ACT score	67.0%	16.0%
Total number of applicants	2,202	7,470
Total number of admissions given out	1,641	3,513
Admitted students who chose to enroll	340	565
Yield rate	20.7%	16.1%
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	$77,385
Average net price	$22,966	$39,101
Tuition	$19,250	$61,308
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,892 Meal plan: $5,660	Room/dormitory: $8,370 Meal plan: $6,828
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $10,353	87.0% Average amount $36,604
Students receiving federal student loan	73.0% Average amount $5,605	48.0% Average amount $5,087
Students taking out private loans	13.0% Average amount $12,712	14.0% Average amount $20,017

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,139 Men 51.3% Women 48.7%	2,096 Men 54.9% Women 45.1%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	0.1%	9.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	1,405	2,049
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	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Communication and Journalism Education Business English Language and Literature	Social Sciences Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Psychology Liberal Arts
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	66.1%	84.5%
Dropout rate	2.5%	14.6%
Transferred out	31.0%	0.2%
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	Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,637 Year 2: $67,812 Year 3: $76,098 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,348 Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $74,456 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,171 Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $54,902 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,157 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $47,142 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,375 Year 2: $34,081 Year 3: $44,570 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,903 Year 2: $39,585 Year 3: $41,845 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: N/A Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: N/A Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $63,392 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $20,824 Year 3: N/A

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Central College vs Union College

Central College

Union College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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