Columbia vs Wellesley College

Columbia University and Wellesley College, two prestigious institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Columbia, located in the heart of New York City, boasts a diverse student body and a wide range of academic programs, while Wellesley, a women's college situated in a charming Boston suburb, fosters a close-knit community and excels in liberal arts education. With acceptance rates of 6.1% and 20.3%, respectively, both institutions are highly selective. Columbia's popular majors include computer science, economics, and political science, while Wellesley students often pursue majors in English, psychology, and biology. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details about these institutions, including student demographics, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your college decision.

	Columbia University	Wellesley College
Overview
Location	New York, New York	Wellesley, Massachusetts
Campus setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	99.0%	97.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	4.1%	16.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $85 Graduate: $120
SAT range	1470 - 1570	1400 - 1540
ACT range	34 - 35	31 - 34
Students submitting SAT score	43.0%	36.0%
Students submitting ACT score	28.0%	23.0%
Total number of applicants	61,110	7,663
Total number of admissions given out	2,524	1,240
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,641	606
Yield rate	65.0%	48.9%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$90,882	$64,602
Average net price	$12,411	$21,862
Tuition	$60,514	$60,424
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,450 Meal plan: $6,000	Room/dormitory: $9,704 Meal plan: $8,584
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	53.0% Average amount $57,726	60.0% Average amount $55,483
Students receiving federal student loan	7.0% Average amount $5,511	13.0% Average amount $3,993
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $34,119	13.0% Average amount $5,043

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,832 Men 50.6% Women 49.4%	2,461 Men 1.2% Women 98.8%
Graduate students	24,944 Men 44.8% Women 55.2%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	37.0%	13.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	13,071	2,211
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	Business Health Professions Engineering Computer and Information Science Public Administration and Social Service	Ethnic Studies Foreign Languages and Literatures Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Physical Science
Students to faculty ratio	6:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	97.4%	92.1%
Dropout rate	1.7%	7.8%
Transferred out	0.7%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $193,362 Year 2: $180,752 Year 3: $230,020 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $162,427 Year 2: $170,426 Year 3: $179,305 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $153,730 Year 2: $160,605 Year 3: $167,216 Computer Science (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $133,851 Year 2: $143,033 Year 3: $166,695 Operations Research (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $111,312 Year 2: $114,503 Year 3: $148,040 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $108,903 Year 2: $103,078 Year 3: $135,658 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $115,222 Year 2: $127,993 Year 3: $131,926 Construction Management (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $98,322 Year 2: $110,878 Year 3: $125,926 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $111,569 Year 2: $109,659 Year 3: $119,899 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,223 Year 2: $100,127 Year 3: $118,332	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $110,380 Year 2: $86,867 Year 3: $124,973 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,781 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $80,094 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $62,505 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,749 Year 2: $34,420 Year 3: $47,043 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,693 Year 2: $36,852 Year 3: $46,471 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,849 Year 2: $31,314 Year 3: $45,061 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,002 Year 2: $33,281 Year 3: $39,658 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: N/A Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,587 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: N/A Computer Software and Media Applications (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,490 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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Columbia vs Wellesley College

Columbia University

Wellesley College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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