Northern Vermont University vs Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA)

Northern Vermont University (NVU) and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) are two distinct institutions offering unique educational experiences. NVU, with its two campuses in Johnson and Lyndon, Vermont, boasts a higher acceptance rate (86%) compared to MCLA's 75%. NVU's student body is more diverse, with a larger international student population. MCLA, located in North Adams, Massachusetts, has a smaller student body and a higher graduation rate (62% vs. 58%). Both universities offer a range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors in education, business, and psychology. While NVU offers more graduate programs, MCLA has a stronger focus on liberal arts education. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover which university better aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Northern Vermont University	Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Overview
Location	Johnson, Vermont	North Adams, Massachusetts
Campus setting	Rural: Distant	Town: Fringe
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	57.0%	63.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	75.4%	91.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50	$50
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	3,954	1,371
Total number of admissions given out	2,981	1,247
Admitted students who chose to enroll	263	167
Yield rate	8.8%	13.4%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $27,598 Out of state: $41,686	In state: $25,928 Out of state: $34,873
Average net price	$17,086	$14,902
Tuition	In state: $11,592 Out of state: $25,680	In state: $1,030 Out of state: $9,975
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,312 Meal plan: $4,732	Room/dormitory: $7,240 Meal plan: $5,044
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $10,938	99.0% Average amount $8,496
Students receiving federal student loan	70.0% Average amount $4,880	97.0% Average amount $3,734
Students taking out private loans	20.0% Average amount $11,045	12.0% Average amount $9,492

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,495 Men 38.5% Women 61.5%	870 Men 39.2% Women 60.8%
Graduate students	251 Men 23.9% Women 76.1%	124 Men 33.1% Women 66.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	47.7%	N/A
International students	1.0%	N/A
Campus local/setting	Rural: Distant	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	1,350	1,020
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Vermont Connecticut New Hampshire New York California	Mississippi New York Vermont Connecticut Rhode Island

Academics
Popular study areas	Psychology Education Liberal Arts Health Professions Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Business Education Computer and Information Science Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	38.4%	58.4%
Dropout rate	24.0%	41.6%
Transferred out	35.2%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $48,789 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,175 Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: $48,043 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $39,585 Year 2: $40,821 Year 3: $42,668 Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,519 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $40,618 Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,022 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $40,578 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,619 Year 2: $29,250 Year 3: $36,764 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,456 Year 2: $34,244 Year 3: $36,088 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,897 Year 2: $34,793 Year 3: $35,525 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,435 Year 2: $33,281 Year 3: $32,943 Music (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,154 Year 2: $27,947 Year 3: $32,920	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,895 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $73,830 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,172 Year 2: $34,467 Year 3: $40,733 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,359 Year 2: $27,181 Year 3: $40,148 Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,284 Year 3: $35,408 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,617 Year 2: $32,569 Year 3: $34,741 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,798 Year 2: $31,828 Year 3: $32,817 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,438 Year 2: $28,236 Year 3: $32,425 Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,231 Year 2: $29,374 Year 3: $31,158 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,032 Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: N/A Visual and Performing Arts, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,169 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A

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