Grinnell College vs University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC)

Grinnell College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Grinnell, a private liberal arts college in Iowa, boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 18%, while UNC-Chapel Hill, a public research university in North Carolina, is more accessible with an acceptance rate of 24%. Grinnell's student body is smaller and more diverse, with a total undergraduate enrollment of around 1,700 students, compared to UNC-Chapel Hill's 19,000 undergraduates. Both institutions excel in academics, with Grinnell known for its strong liberal arts curriculum and UNC-Chapel Hill renowned for its research opportunities and diverse academic programs. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two exceptional universities and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Grinnell College	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Overview
Location	Grinnell, Iowa	Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Campus setting	Town: Remote	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	93.0%	97.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	10.5%	20.4%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $85 Graduate: $95
SAT range	1370 - 1530	1140 - 1380
ACT range	30 - 34	22 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	29.0%	2.0%
Students submitting ACT score	33.0%	12.0%
Total number of applicants	10,513	50,729
Total number of admissions given out	1,108	10,348
Admitted students who chose to enroll	471	4,690
Yield rate	42.5%	45.3%
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	In state: $24,770 Out of state: $52,633
Average net price	$37,423	$11,508
Tuition	$58,156	In state: $7,019 Out of state: $34,882
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,779 Meal plan: $7,572	Room/dormitory: $6,878 Meal plan: $5,004
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $35,821	42.0% Average amount $16,076
Students receiving federal student loan	36.0% Average amount $3,952	17.0% Average amount $4,244
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $5,903	3.0% Average amount $14,032

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,748 Men 47.5% Women 52.5%	19,845 Men 39.6% Women 60.4%
Graduate students	N/A	11,796 Men 41.4% Women 58.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	91.5%	16.2%
International students	19.4%	6.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	1,450	9,984
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	North Carolina Georgia Maryland New York Pennsylvania

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Physical Science Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science	Health Professions Business Social Sciences Public Administration and Social Service Multidisciplinary Studies
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	86.9%	90.5%
Dropout rate	12.9%	3.7%
Transferred out	N/A	5.4%
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	Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $168,979 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $238,213 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $135,965 Year 2: $127,836 Year 3: $150,089 Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $116,248 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $128,102 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $67,961 Year 2: $103,078 Year 3: $117,488 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $89,271 Year 2: $86,036 Year 3: $96,602 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,162 Year 2: $72,083 Year 3: $95,204 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,938 Year 2: $73,823 Year 3: $89,917 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $71,557 Year 2: $57,770 Year 3: $87,057 Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,899 Year 2: $67,660 Year 3: $86,155 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,205 Year 2: $68,666 Year 3: $82,520

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Grinnell College vs University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC)

Grinnell College

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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