Kenyon College vs Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU)

Kenyon College and Illinois Wesleyan University, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Kenyon, nestled in Gambier, Ohio, boasts a lower acceptance rate (29%) compared to Illinois Wesleyan's (58%) in Bloomington, Illinois. Kenyon's student body is slightly smaller, fostering a close-knit community, while Illinois Wesleyan's larger student population provides a more diverse and vibrant campus life. While both institutions excel in the humanities and social sciences, Kenyon is known for its strengths in English, history, and foreign languages, while Illinois Wesleyan shines in psychology, biology, and business. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these institutions' graduation rates, financial aid opportunities, and other crucial factors that will help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Illinois Wesleyan University	Kenyon College
Overview
Location	Bloomington, Illinois	Gambier, Ohio
Campus setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
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%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	45.2%	36.5%
Application fees
SAT range	1110 - 1310	1340 - 1500
ACT range	24 - 29	31 - 34
Students submitting SAT score	33.0%	25.0%
Students submitting ACT score	31.0%	28.0%
Total number of applicants	4,543	7,601
Total number of admissions given out	2,055	2,778
Admitted students who chose to enroll	432	508
Yield rate	21.0%	18.3%
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	$67,124	$80,270
Average net price	$30,610	$38,927
Tuition	$52,308	$63,060
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,584 Meal plan: $4,528	$13,310
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $34,810	79.0% Average amount $32,553
Students receiving federal student loan	68.0% Average amount $5,692	26.0% Average amount $3,119
Students taking out private loans	35.0% Average amount $6,781	13.0% Average amount $3,894

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,653 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	1,875 Men 45.6% Women 54.4%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	3.4%	10.3%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	1,308	1,868
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences Health Professions Education Visual & Performing Arts	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Visual & Performing Arts History
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	81.1%	86.5%
Dropout rate	18.7%	6.5%
Transferred out	N/A	6.9%
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	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,959 Year 2: $50,856 Year 3: $69,651 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,994 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $32,958 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,057 Year 2: $23,456 Year 3: $28,026 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,739 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,055 Year 3: N/A International/Global Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: N/A Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,334 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: N/A Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $18,841 Year 2: $25,967 Year 3: N/A History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,181 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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