Colby College vs College of the Holy Cross

Colby College and College of the Holy Cross, both esteemed liberal arts institutions in New England, offer distinct educational experiences. Colby, located in Waterville, Maine, boasts a lower acceptance rate (13.5%) compared to Holy Cross's 43.5% in Worcester, Massachusetts. While Colby's student body is slightly larger, both colleges share a vibrant residential campus culture. Explore the comparison table to delve into further details, including popular majors like Economics and Government at Colby and Biology and Psychology at Holy Cross, as well as graduation rates and student demographics. Discover which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Colby College	College of the Holy Cross
Overview
Location	Waterville, Maine	Worcester, Massachusetts
Campus setting	Town: Remote	City: Midsize
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	4-1-4	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	95.0%	96.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.9%	42.9%
Application fees		$60
SAT range	1400 - 1530	1240 - 1420
ACT range	32 - 34	28 - 32
Students submitting SAT score	40.0%	40.0%
Students submitting ACT score	28.0%	19.0%
Total number of applicants	15,857	6,498
Total number of admissions given out	1,407	2,786
Admitted students who chose to enroll	667	821
Yield rate	47.4%	29.5%
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)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$68,825	$74,520
Average net price	$17,912	$29,198
Tuition	$58,640	$55,800
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,150 Meal plan: $7,595	Room/dormitory: $8,800 Meal plan: $7,280
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	39.0% Average amount $58,513	63.0% Average amount $33,661
Students receiving federal student loan	8.0% Average amount $5,140	38.0% Average amount $5,151
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $18,242	13.0% Average amount $2,342

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,262 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	3,029 Men 45.6% Women 54.4%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	9.5%	3.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	2,242	2,619
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	Social Sciences Psychology Multidisciplinary Studies Mathematics and Statistics Natural Resources and Conservation	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Physical Science Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	86.6%	92.6%
Dropout rate	5.7%	1.8%
Transferred out	7.5%	4.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,540 Year 2: $57,995 Year 3: $83,980 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,972 Year 2: $47,118 Year 3: $55,529 International/Global Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,350 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $53,638 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $42,883 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,156 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $40,423 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,612 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $41,193 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: N/A Anthropology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,971 Year 3: N/A	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,612 Year 2: $66,519 Year 3: $81,782 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,599 Year 2: $52,733 Year 3: $72,640 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,229 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $60,341 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,588 Year 2: $44,590 Year 3: $59,114 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,436 Year 2: $46,357 Year 3: $58,346 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,146 Year 2: $42,363 Year 3: $57,920 Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,425 Year 2: $42,309 Year 3: $54,005 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,352 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $50,696 Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,359 Year 2: $45,175 Year 3: $49,457 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,474 Year 2: $42,458 Year 3: $47,527

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