Davidson College vs Colby College

Davidson College and Colby College, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Davidson, located in Davidson, North Carolina, boasts a slightly larger student body and a higher acceptance rate compared to Colby, situated in Waterville, Maine. While Davidson's student body is more diverse, Colby has a slightly higher graduation rate. Both colleges excel in academics, with popular majors including Economics, English, and Biology at Davidson and Government, Economics, and Biology at Colby. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these colleges' unique strengths and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Colby College	Davidson College
Overview
Location	Waterville, Maine	Davidson, North Carolina
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Suburb: Large
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%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.9%	17.8%
Application fees		$50
SAT range	1400 - 1530	N/A
ACT range	32 - 34	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	40.0%
Students submitting ACT score	28.0%
Total number of applicants	15,857	6,434
Total number of admissions given out	1,407	1,145
Admitted students who chose to enroll	667	547
Yield rate	47.4%	47.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	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	$73,200
Average net price	$17,912	$25,794
Tuition	$58,640	$54,460
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,150 Meal plan: $7,595	Room/dormitory: $7,700 Meal plan: $7,525
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	39.0% Average amount $58,513	64.0% Average amount $47,889
Students receiving federal student loan	8.0% Average amount $5,140	10.0% Average amount $5,095
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $18,242	2.0% Average amount $33,219

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,262 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	1,973 Men 47.2% Women 52.8%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	76.8%
International students	9.5%	8.2%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,242	1,830
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	North Carolina Virginia Texas New Jersey Florida

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Psychology Multidisciplinary Studies Mathematics and Statistics Natural Resources and Conservation	Psychology Physical Science Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Ethnic Studies
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	86.6%	89.6%
Dropout rate	5.7%	10.0%
Transferred out	7.5%	N/A
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 (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $60,797 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $80,388 Political Science and Government (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $42,752 Year 2: $45,715 Year 3: $53,747 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $43,240 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $41,099 Year 2: $35,330 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,670 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $34,292 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: N/A Anthropology (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: N/A History (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,075 Year 3: N/A

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