Lafayette College vs Colby College

Lafayette College and Colby College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Lafayette, nestled in Easton, Pennsylvania, boasts a slightly larger student body and a higher acceptance rate compared to Colby, located in Waterville, Maine. While Colby's student body is more diverse, Lafayette has a higher graduation rate. Both colleges excel in various academic disciplines, with Lafayette emphasizing engineering and business, and Colby known for its strengths in the humanities and social sciences. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these colleges' unique characteristics, including popular majors, financial aid opportunities, and notable alumni, to determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Colby College	Lafayette College
Overview
Location	Waterville, Maine	Easton, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Town: Remote	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	95.0%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.9%	40.7%
Application fees		$65
SAT range	1400 - 1530	1300 - 1460
ACT range	32 - 34	30 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	40.0%	28.0%
Students submitting ACT score	28.0%	13.0%
Total number of applicants	15,857	8,262
Total number of admissions given out	1,407	3,366
Admitted students who chose to enroll	667	782
Yield rate	47.4%	23.2%
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)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$68,825	$75,934
Average net price	$17,912	$38,754
Tuition	$58,640	$55,874
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,150 Meal plan: $7,595	Room/dormitory: $10,308 Meal plan: $6,362
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	39.0% Average amount $58,513	61.0% Average amount $34,668
Students receiving federal student loan	8.0% Average amount $5,140	26.0% Average amount $4,491
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $18,242	7.0% Average amount $23,831

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,262 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	2,725 Men 51.2% Women 48.8%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	82.6%
International students	9.5%	7.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,242	2,510
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Mississippi Connecticut

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Psychology Multidisciplinary Studies Mathematics and Statistics Natural Resources and Conservation	Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Social Sciences Physical Science Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	86.6%	87.9%
Dropout rate	5.7%	2.5%
Transferred out	7.5%	9.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,540 Year 2: $57,995 Year 3: $83,980 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,972 Year 2: $47,118 Year 3: $55,529 International/Global Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,350 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $53,638 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $42,883 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,156 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $40,423 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,612 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $41,193 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: N/A Anthropology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,971 Year 3: N/A	Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,532 Year 2: $68,379 Year 3: $80,306 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,033 Year 2: $65,238 Year 3: $78,021 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $77,247 Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: $76,714 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,784 Year 2: $65,486 Year 3: $76,536 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,714 Year 2: $72,403 Year 3: $75,320 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,927 Year 2: $58,943 Year 3: $72,455 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,229 Year 2: $48,198 Year 3: $60,266 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,408 Year 2: $44,468 Year 3: $57,092 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,680 Year 2: $32,391 Year 3: $50,156 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,170 Year 3: $48,201

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