Lawrence University vs Swarthmore

Lawrence University and Swarthmore College, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Lawrence, nestled in Appleton, Wisconsin, boasts a 54% acceptance rate, while Swarthmore, located in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, is more selective with a 13% acceptance rate. Lawrence students pursue diverse interests, with popular majors including psychology, biology, and economics, while Swarthmore students often concentrate in engineering, social sciences, and humanities. Lawrence's student body is slightly larger, with an undergraduate enrollment of 1,500 compared to Swarthmore's 1,525. Both institutions boast impressive graduation rates, with Lawrence at 82% and Swarthmore at 94%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions between these two exceptional institutions and determine which aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Lawrence University	Swarthmore College
Overview
Location	Appleton, Wisconsin	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	Trimester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	89.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	75.0%	7.8%
Application fees		$60
SAT range	1230 - 1460	1430 - 1560
ACT range	27 - 32	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	24.0%	39.0%
Students submitting ACT score	37.0%	21.0%
Total number of applicants	2,907	13,012
Total number of admissions given out	2,179	1,013
Admitted students who chose to enroll	402	454
Yield rate	18.4%	44.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not 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	$65,445	$75,793
Average net price	$24,804	$19,733
Tuition	$52,101	$55,856
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,814 Meal plan: $5,370	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 $39,841	76.0% Average amount $40,072
Students receiving federal student loan	57.0% Average amount $5,053	6.0% Average amount $5,191
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $16,464	1.0% Average amount $30,543

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,483 Men 45.8% Women 54.2%	1,651 Men 49.7% Women 50.3%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	73.1%	89.9%
International students	12.3%	15.4%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,460	1,605
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Wisconsin Illinois Minnesota Texas California	New York California Pennsylvania New Jersey Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Visual & Performing Arts Social Sciences History Foreign Languages and Literatures	Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science Engineering Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	8:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	80.5%	94.1%
Dropout rate	19.0%	5.7%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $54,035 Year 3: $51,421 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,019 Year 3: $35,410 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,329 Year 3: $32,588 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,667 Year 3: $31,648 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $27,840 Music (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $27,395 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $24,417 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $20,533 Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,960 Year 3: N/A Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $23,113 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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Lawrence University vs Swarthmore

Lawrence University

Swarthmore College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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