Earlham College vs Otterbein University

Earlham College and Otterbein University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Earlham, a liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana, boasts a selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 69%, while Otterbein, a private university in Westerville, Ohio, maintains a more open admissions policy with an acceptance rate of 84%. Earlham's student body is smaller and more diverse, with 1,100 undergraduates representing 45 states and 40 countries, while Otterbein's larger student body of 3,000 undergraduates primarily hails from Ohio. Both institutions excel in academics, with Earlham emphasizing experiential learning and Otterbein offering a variety of undergraduate research opportunities. To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table detailing the key differences between these two outstanding institutions.

	Earlham College	Otterbein University
Overview
Location	Richmond, Indiana	Westerville, Ohio
Campus setting	Town: Distant	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 and Graduate
Students retention rate	76.0%	80.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Protestant	Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	69.1%	82.9%
Application fees	$35	$40
SAT range	1100 - 1340	1028 - 1233
ACT range	26 - 30	19 - 26
Students submitting SAT score	29.0%	12.0%
Students submitting ACT score	20.0%	65.0%
Total number of applicants	1,659	3,537
Total number of admissions given out	1,146	2,932
Admitted students who chose to enroll	171	570
Yield rate	14.9%	19.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$60,465	$49,638
Average net price	$25,360	$22,138
Tuition	$48,523	$33,224
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,261 Meal plan: $5,593	Room/dormitory: $6,318 Meal plan: $5,674
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $35,019	100.0% Average amount $23,065
Students receiving federal student loan	51.0% Average amount $4,899	94.0% Average amount $7,792
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $18,117	9.0% Average amount $13,529

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	658 Men 45.4% Women 54.6%	2,253 Men 40.2% Women 59.8%
Graduate students	78 Men 42.3% Women 57.7%	352 Men 29.8% Women 70.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	13.3%
International students	18.1%	0.0%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,023	1,268
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Ohio New York Michigan Florida Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Business Social Sciences Visual & Performing Arts Foreign Languages and Literatures	Health Professions Business Education Visual & Performing Arts Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	72.6%	69.2%
Dropout rate	27.4%	9.2%
Transferred out	N/A	21.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $24,421 Year 3: N/A Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,216 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,243 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $15,922 Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,096 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: N/A	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $102,659 Year 2: $111,017 Year 3: $112,239 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,815 Year 2: $59,858 Year 3: $61,251 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $60,614 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,332 Year 2: $41,342 Year 3: $50,181 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,872 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $43,144 Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,792 Year 2: $44,170 Year 3: $42,185 Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,912 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $37,500 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,416 Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: $37,480 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,439 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $37,205 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,081 Year 2: $32,569 Year 3: $34,506

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