Grinnell College vs Pomona College

Nestled in the heart of Iowa, Grinnell College, and Pomona College, situated in the vibrant city of Claremont, California, stand as two beacons of academic excellence. While both institutions share a commitment to providing a rigorous liberal arts education, they offer distinct experiences shaped by their unique locations, student demographics, and academic strengths. Grinnell, with its acceptance rate of 22%, boasts a diverse student body representing 49 states and 70 countries, while Pomona's acceptance rate of 10% reflects its highly selective admissions process. Explore the comparison table below to delve into further details about these two exceptional institutions, including popular majors, graduation rates, and financial aid opportunities, and discover which college best aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Grinnell College	Pomona College
Overview
Location	Grinnell, Iowa	Claremont, California
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	93.0%	96.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	10.5%	6.6%
Application fees		$70
SAT range	1370 - 1530	1470 - 1570
ACT range	30 - 34	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	29.0%	37.0%
Students submitting ACT score	33.0%	29.0%
Total number of applicants	10,513	11,620
Total number of admissions given out	1,108	771
Admitted students who chose to enroll	471	451
Yield rate	42.5%	58.5%
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)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$76,098	$74,873
Average net price	$37,423	$17,000
Tuition	$58,156	$56,284
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,779 Meal plan: $7,572	Room/dormitory: $10,666 Meal plan: $7,858
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $35,821	57.0% Average amount $53,094
Students receiving federal student loan	36.0% Average amount $3,952	4.0% Average amount $4,273
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $5,903	6.0% Average amount $11,349

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,748 Men 47.5% Women 52.5%	1,764 Men 45.4% Women 54.6%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	91.5%	N/A
International students	19.4%	11.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,450	1,612
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Illinois Iowa Minnesota Texas	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Physical Science Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science	Computer and Information Science Multidisciplinary Studies Psychology Ethnic Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	7:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	86.9%	93.0%
Dropout rate	12.9%	4.3%
Transferred out	N/A	2.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,661 Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $55,487 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,893 Year 2: $34,704 Year 3: $49,481 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,499 Year 2: $29,141 Year 3: $41,882 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,517 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $40,572 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: $37,882 Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,508 Year 3: $37,613 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,718 Year 2: $19,227 Year 3: $29,237 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $28,680 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,658 Year 2: $91,744 Year 3: N/A Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,239 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $110,738 Year 2: $128,737 Year 3: N/A Public Policy Analysis (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: N/A Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,038 Year 2: $77,213 Year 3: N/A

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Grinnell College

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