Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) vs Swarthmore

Illinois Wesleyan University and Swarthmore College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Illinois Wesleyan, a private liberal arts university in Bloomington, Illinois, boasts a 68% acceptance rate and a diverse student body, with 48% female and 52% male students. Swarthmore, a private liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, has a highly selective admissions process with a 10% acceptance rate and a more balanced gender ratio, with 49% female and 51% male students. While Illinois Wesleyan is known for its strong programs in nursing, business, and education, Swarthmore excels in engineering, social sciences, and natural sciences. Both institutions offer a vibrant campus life with various student organizations and activities. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two exceptional institutions. Dive into the details and discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences
Illinois Wesleyan University logo

Illinois Wesleyan University

Swarthmore College logo

Swarthmore College

Overview

Location Bloomington, Illinois Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Campus setting City: Small Suburb: Large
College type 4 year 4 year
Control/business model Private (Non Profit) Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system 4-1-4 Semester
Degrees offered Undergraduate Undergraduate
Students retention rate 85.0% 95.0%
Common app member Yes Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission

Acceptance rate 45.2% 7.8%
Application fees $60
SAT range 1110 - 1310 1430 - 1560
ACT range 24 - 29 33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score 33.0% 39.0%
Students submitting ACT score 31.0% 21.0%
Total number of applicants 4,543 13,012
Total number of admissions given out 2,055 1,013
Admitted students who chose to enroll 432 454
Yield rate 21.0% 44.8%
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) Required Not required

Tuition and Fees

Sticker price $67,124 $75,793
Average net price $30,610 $19,733
Tuition $52,308 $55,856
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $7,584

Meal plan: $4,528
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 $34,810
76.0%
Average amount $40,072
Students receiving federal student loan 68.0%
Average amount $5,692
6.0%
Average amount $5,191
Students taking out private loans 35.0%
Average amount $6,781
1.0%
Average amount $30,543

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 1,653
Men 49.4% Women 50.6%
1,651
Men 49.7% Women 50.3%
Graduate students N/A N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity
Low
Moderate
Out-of-state students N/A 89.9%
International students 3.4% 15.4%
Campus local/setting City: Small Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity 1,308 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
  • Business
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Health Professions
  • 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 Higher Learning Commission Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome

Graduation rate 81.1% 94.1%
Dropout rate 18.7% 5.7%
Transferred out N/A N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $57,305
  • Year 2: $53,358
  • Year 3: $77,743
Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $61,838
  • Year 2: $62,792
  • Year 3: $73,001
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $66,460
  • Year 2: $62,775
  • Year 3: $69,764
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $45,302
  • Year 2: $50,356
  • Year 3: $56,336
Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $26,739
  • Year 3: $46,139
Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $32,272
  • Year 2: $31,314
  • Year 3: $39,988
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $18,075
  • Year 2: $20,140
  • Year 3: $30,321
Economics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $61,516
  • Year 3: N/A
Music (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $27,439
  • Year 3: N/A
Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $36,674
  • 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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