Duke University vs Wellesley College

Duke University and Wellesley College, two prestigious institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Duke, a coeducational research university, boasts a diverse student body and a wide range of academic programs, with popular majors in engineering, economics, and public policy. Wellesley, a women's liberal arts college, emphasizes interdisciplinary learning and offers strengths in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. While both schools share a commitment to academic excellence, their acceptance rates, student demographics, and graduation rates vary significantly. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover which institution aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Duke University	Wellesley College
Overview
Location	Durham, North Carolina	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	98.0%	97.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	5.9%	16.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $85 Graduate: $95
SAT range	1468 - 1558	1400 - 1540
ACT range	33 - 35	31 - 34
Students submitting SAT score	47.0%	36.0%
Students submitting ACT score	46.0%	23.0%
Total number of applicants	49,703	7,663
Total number of admissions given out	2,927	1,240
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,744	606
Yield rate	59.6%	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	$79,860	$64,602
Average net price	$27,297	$21,862
Tuition	$58,085	$60,424
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,164 Meal plan: $6,862	Room/dormitory: $9,704 Meal plan: $8,584
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	46.0% Average amount $50,731	60.0% Average amount $55,483
Students receiving federal student loan	20.0% Average amount $4,537	13.0% Average amount $3,993
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $22,957	13.0% Average amount $5,043

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	6,883 Men 48.4% Women 51.6%	2,461 Men 1.2% Women 98.8%
Graduate students	10,737 Men 45.5% Women 54.5%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	21.4%	13.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	5,718	2,211
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Engineering Legal Profession Social Sciences	Ethnic Studies Foreign Languages and Literatures Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Physical Science
Students to faculty ratio	6:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	95.9%	92.1%
Dropout rate	4.0%	7.8%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	International Business (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $151,472 Year 2: $213,978 Year 3: $201,782 Law (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $155,031 Year 2: $168,098 Year 3: $200,300 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $143,622 Year 2: $148,189 Year 3: $163,560 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $163,977 Year 2: $138,342 Year 3: $159,598 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $115,135 Year 2: $106,898 Year 3: $134,542 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $123,138 Year 2: $116,541 Year 3: $124,406 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $108,817 Year 2: $97,071 Year 3: $117,262 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $94,699 Year 2: $90,856 Year 3: $112,646 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,661 Year 2: $91,078 Year 3: $108,736 Economics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $104,348	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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