Houghton College vs Swarthmore

Houghton College and Swarthmore College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Houghton, a private Christian college in Houghton, New York, fosters a close-knit community with a strong emphasis on faith and values. Swarthmore, a private liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, is renowned for its rigorous academic programs and commitment to social justice. With acceptance rates of 78% and 11%, respectively, these colleges attract students with diverse backgrounds and aspirations. Houghton's popular majors include Business, Education, and Health Professions, while Swarthmore excels in the fields of Engineering, Social Sciences, and Humanities. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about the student body demographics, graduation rates, and other key differences between these two exceptional institutions.

	Houghton College	Swarthmore College
Overview
Location	Houghton, New York	Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Rural: 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 and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	75.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	79.1%	7.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $40	$60
SAT range	1080 - 1290	1430 - 1560
ACT range	20 - 31	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	28.0%	39.0%
Students submitting ACT score	6.0%	21.0%
Total number of applicants	1,008	13,012
Total number of admissions given out	797	1,013
Admitted students who chose to enroll	204	454
Yield rate	25.6%	44.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$27,846	$75,793
Average net price	$24,502	$19,733
Tuition	$15,900	$55,856
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,288 Meal plan: $4,568	Room/dormitory: $8,796 Meal plan: $8,354
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $21,951	76.0% Average amount $40,072
Students receiving federal student loan	62.0% Average amount $5,120	6.0% Average amount $5,191
Students taking out private loans	18.0% Average amount $13,866	1.0% Average amount $30,543

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	863 Men 37.2% Women 62.8%	1,651 Men 49.7% Women 50.3%
Graduate students	32 Men 50.0% Women 50.0%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	89.9%
International students	4.9%	15.4%
Campus local/setting	Rural: Remote	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,015	1,605
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	New York California Pennsylvania New Jersey Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Business Psychology Education Visual & Performing Arts	Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science Engineering Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	64.6%	94.1%
Dropout rate	13.2%	5.7%
Transferred out	22.2%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $16,932 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,222 Year 2: $24,872 Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,411 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: N/A	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $97,897 Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $113,966 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,029 Year 2: $81,702 Year 3: $88,391 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,119 Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $44,841 Education, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $42,944 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,425 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $36,220 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,963 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,964 Year 2: $125,015 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $43,426 Year 3: N/A

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