Gustavus Adolphus College vs Central College

Gustavus Adolphus College and Central College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Gustavus, located in St. Peter, Minnesota, boasts a higher acceptance rate (73%) compared to Central's 68% in Pella, Iowa. While Central's student body is slightly larger, Gustavus students enjoy a lower student-to-faculty ratio (11:1 vs. 13:1), fostering closer interactions with professors. Both colleges excel in academics, with popular majors including business, biology, and psychology. However, Gustavus has a higher graduation rate (83%) than Central (79%). Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more differences and similarities between these two exceptional institutions and make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Central College	Gustavus Adolphus College
Overview
Location	Pella, Iowa	Saint Peter, Minnesota
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Town: Fringe
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	79.0%	84.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Protestant	Evangelical

Admission
Acceptance rate	74.5%	72.6%
Application fees	$25
SAT range	1000 - 1260	N/A
ACT range	19 - 25	26 - 31
Students submitting SAT score	10.0%
Students submitting ACT score	67.0%	28.0%
Total number of applicants	2,202	3,799
Total number of admissions given out	1,641	2,757
Admitted students who chose to enroll	340	551
Yield rate	20.7%	20.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$34,302	$63,270
Average net price	$22,966	$27,657
Tuition	$19,250	$49,950
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,892 Meal plan: $5,660	Room/dormitory: $6,750 Meal plan: $3,950
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $10,353	99.0% Average amount $33,174
Students receiving federal student loan	73.0% Average amount $5,605	49.0% Average amount $6,197
Students taking out private loans	13.0% Average amount $12,712	17.0% Average amount $14,100

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,139 Men 51.3% Women 48.7%	2,251 Men 43.6% Women 56.4%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	19.2%
International students	0.1%	3.6%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	1,405	2,125
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Minnesota Wisconsin South Dakota Texas Illinois

Academics
Popular study areas	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Communication and Journalism Education Business English Language and Literature	Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Psychology Business Health Professions
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	66.1%	78.4%
Dropout rate	2.5%	9.3%
Transferred out	31.0%	12.3%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $53,045 Year 3: $57,439 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,169 Year 2: $44,542 Year 3: $50,519 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,119 Year 3: $48,234 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,721 Year 3: $41,814 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $36,848 Year 3: $40,707 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: $37,077 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,314 Year 3: $33,927 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $46,790 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,508 Year 3: N/A	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $64,196 Year 3: $72,945 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,715 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $68,688 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,092 Year 2: $57,995 Year 3: $66,456 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,254 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $60,313 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,068 Year 2: $48,302 Year 3: $52,394 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,694 Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $48,449 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,021 Year 2: $42,166 Year 3: $45,271 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,866 Year 2: $38,829 Year 3: $42,958 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,044 Year 2: $35,179 Year 3: $41,058 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,638 Year 2: $36,745 Year 3: $39,885

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Gustavus Adolphus College vs Central College

Central College

Gustavus Adolphus College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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