Cornell College vs College of Saint Benedict

Cornell College and College of Saint Benedict, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Cornell College, a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa, boasts a 98% acceptance rate and a student body of around 1,200 undergraduates. In contrast, College of Saint Benedict, a private Catholic liberal arts college in St. Joseph, Minnesota, has a slightly lower acceptance rate of 90% and a larger student body of over 2,000 undergraduates. While both colleges offer a wide range of academic programs, Cornell College is known for its strong science and mathematics departments, while College of Saint Benedict excels in nursing and health sciences. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these institutions' differences in tuition, graduation rates, and student demographics, and make an informed decision about which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	College of Saint Benedict	Cornell College
Overview
Location	Saint Joseph, Minnesota	Mount Vernon, Iowa
Campus setting	Suburb: Midsize	Town: Fringe
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 and Graduate
Students retention rate	85.0%	78.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Catholic	Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	91.8%	81.1%
Application fees		$30
SAT range	1110 - 1220	1155 - 1405
ACT range	20 - 27	24 - 30
Students submitting SAT score	5.0%	28.0%
Students submitting ACT score	53.0%	58.0%
Total number of applicants	1,705	2,836
Total number of admissions given out	1,565	2,300
Admitted students who chose to enroll	389	366
Yield rate	24.9%	15.9%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$64,600	$62,735
Average net price	$28,269	$22,667
Tuition	$48,990	$47,100
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,744 Meal plan: $5,830	Room/dormitory: $4,868 Meal plan: $5,688
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $34,926	100.0% Average amount $37,745
Students receiving federal student loan	70.0% Average amount $5,285	57.0% Average amount $5,607
Students taking out private loans	23.0% Average amount $14,950	16.0% Average amount $9,357

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,542 Men 0.0% Women 100.0%	1,046 Men 52.5% Women 47.5%
Graduate students	15 Men 0.0% Women 100.0%	9 Men 33.3% Women 66.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	13.9%	N/A
International students	2.8%	3.0%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Midsize	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	1,657	1,060
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Minnesota Texas Wisconsin Illinois California	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Health Professions Multidisciplinary Studies Business Communication and Journalism	Business Visual & Performing Arts Foreign Languages and Literatures Social Sciences Philosophy and Religious Studies
Students to faculty ratio	11:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	76.7%	63.8%
Dropout rate	4.2%	10.9%
Transferred out	19.1%	25.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,506 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $64,967 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,133 Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $63,835 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,618 Year 2: $51,607 Year 3: $60,918 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,526 Year 2: $41,193 Year 3: $50,148 Nutrition Sciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,764 Year 2: $38,906 Year 3: $47,379 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,234 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $41,921 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,557 Year 2: $27,126 Year 3: $40,533 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,176 Year 2: $34,298 Year 3: $38,443 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,663 Year 2: $31,127 Year 3: $37,417 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,025 Year 2: $31,133 Year 3: N/A	Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,721 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $40,862 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,040 Year 2: $24,035 Year 3: $38,658 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $21,951 Year 2: $23,340 Year 3: N/A Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,103 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,478 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,731 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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