Grinnell College vs Union College

Grinnell College and Union College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Grinnell, nestled in the heart of Iowa, boasts a tight-knit community with a focus on interdisciplinary learning, while Union, located in Schenectady, New York, emphasizes a rigorous curriculum and a vibrant campus culture. With acceptance rates of 22% and 24%, respectively, both colleges are highly selective, attracting academically talented students from diverse backgrounds. Grinnell's student body is slightly larger, with an undergraduate enrollment of 1,700 compared to Union's 2,200. Popular majors at Grinnell include political science, economics, and biology, while Union students often pursue engineering, economics, and psychology. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two exceptional colleges and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Grinnell College	Union College
Overview
Location	Grinnell, Iowa	Schenectady, New York
Campus setting	Town: Remote	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Trimester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	93.0%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	10.5%	47.0%
Application fees		$60
SAT range	1370 - 1530	1270 - 1450
ACT range	30 - 34	28 - 32
Students submitting SAT score	29.0%	37.0%
Students submitting ACT score	33.0%	16.0%
Total number of applicants	10,513	7,470
Total number of admissions given out	1,108	3,513
Admitted students who chose to enroll	471	565
Yield rate	42.5%	16.1%
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)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$76,098	$77,385
Average net price	$37,423	$39,101
Tuition	$58,156	$61,308
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,779 Meal plan: $7,572	Room/dormitory: $8,370 Meal plan: $6,828
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $35,821	87.0% Average amount $36,604
Students receiving federal student loan	36.0% Average amount $3,952	48.0% Average amount $5,087
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $5,903	14.0% Average amount $20,017

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,748 Men 47.5% Women 52.5%	2,096 Men 54.9% Women 45.1%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	91.5%	N/A
International students	19.4%	9.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	1,450	2,049
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	Social Sciences Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Psychology Liberal Arts
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	86.9%	84.5%
Dropout rate	12.9%	14.6%
Transferred out	N/A	0.2%
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	Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,637 Year 2: $67,812 Year 3: $76,098 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,348 Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $74,456 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,171 Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $54,902 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,157 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $47,142 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,375 Year 2: $34,081 Year 3: $44,570 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,903 Year 2: $39,585 Year 3: $41,845 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: N/A Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: N/A Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $63,392 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $20,824 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 vs Union College

Grinnell College

Union College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

Compare Similar Colleges

Find Colleges By State

Resources

About