Hamilton College vs Macalester College

Hamilton College and Macalester College, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Hamilton, located in Clinton, New York, boasts a lower acceptance rate (13%) and a smaller student body (1,862 undergraduates) compared to Macalester in Saint Paul, Minnesota, which has an acceptance rate of 28% and a larger undergraduate population (2,082). While Hamilton's student body is predominantly White (63%), Macalester's student body is more diverse, with 48% White, 15% Asian, 11% Hispanic/Latino, and 10% Black or African American students. Both colleges offer a wide range of academic programs, with popular majors at Hamilton including Economics, Government, and English, while Macalester's popular majors include Economics, Biology, and Political Science. With graduation rates of 94% for Hamilton and 87% for Macalester,

	Hamilton College	Macalester College
Overview
Location	Clinton, New York	Saint Paul, Minnesota
Campus setting	Suburb: Midsize	City: 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	94.0%	96.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation		Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	14.1%	31.3%
Application fees	$60	$40
SAT range	1410 - 1540	1340 - 1515
ACT range	33 - 35	29 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	32.0%	35.0%
Students submitting ACT score	20.0%	39.0%
Total number of applicants	9,380	9,046
Total number of admissions given out	1,320	2,828
Admitted students who chose to enroll	533	601
Yield rate	40.4%	21.3%
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)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$76,700	$76,357
Average net price	$26,803	$30,939
Tuition	$59,380	$60,288
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,320 Meal plan: $6,910	Room/dormitory: $7,272 Meal plan: $6,270
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	55.0% Average amount $47,867	87.0% Average amount $42,832
Students receiving federal student loan	35.0% Average amount $4,331	39.0% Average amount $4,799
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $25,195	29.0% Average amount $4,321

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,055 Men 45.8% Women 54.2%	2,244 Men 43.3% Women 56.7%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	6.8%	13.5%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Midsize	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,057	1,332
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Visual & Performing Arts Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Physical Science Mathematics and Statistics	Mathematics and Statistics Foreign Languages and Literatures Multidisciplinary Studies Social Sciences Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	91.5%	89.7%
Dropout rate	0.8%	10.0%
Transferred out	6.8%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,571 Year 2: $63,501 Year 3: $84,359 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,593 Year 2: $59,045 Year 3: $74,628 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,577 Year 2: $53,894 Year 3: $56,960 Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $51,273 Year 3: N/A Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $24,772 Year 3: N/A International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: N/A Public Policy Analysis (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $50,856 Year 3: N/A Research and Experimental Psychology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,978 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: N/A Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: N/A	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,163 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $72,135 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,896 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $56,193 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,635 Year 2: $35,274 Year 3: $43,620 Geography and Cartography (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,253 Year 2: $32,569 Year 3: $39,047 International/Global Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,368 Year 2: $34,526 Year 3: $36,933 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,116 Year 2: $31,133 Year 3: $34,521 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,444 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,508 Year 3: N/A Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,129 Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: N/A Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,281 Year 3: N/A

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