Macalester College vs Colby College

Macalester College and Colby College, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Macalester, located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, boasts a diverse student body with a strong international presence, while Colby, situated in Waterville, Maine, is known for its beautiful campus and close-knit community. With acceptance rates of 29% and 15%, respectively, these colleges attract academically talented students. Macalester's popular majors include political science, economics, and environmental studies, while Colby students often pursue majors in government, biology, and English. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these colleges' differences in graduation rates, financial aid, and other key aspects, helping you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Colby College	Macalester College
Overview
Location	Waterville, Maine	Saint Paul, Minnesota
Campus setting	Town: Remote	City: 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%	96.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation		Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.9%	31.3%
Application fees		$40
SAT range	1400 - 1530	1340 - 1515
ACT range	32 - 34	29 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	40.0%	35.0%
Students submitting ACT score	28.0%	39.0%
Total number of applicants	15,857	9,046
Total number of admissions given out	1,407	2,828
Admitted students who chose to enroll	667	601
Yield rate	47.4%	21.3%
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)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$68,825	$76,357
Average net price	$17,912	$30,939
Tuition	$58,640	$60,288
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,150 Meal plan: $7,595	Room/dormitory: $7,272 Meal plan: $6,270
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	39.0% Average amount $58,513	87.0% Average amount $42,832
Students receiving federal student loan	8.0% Average amount $5,140	39.0% Average amount $4,799
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $18,242	29.0% Average amount $4,321

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,262 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	2,244 Men 43.3% Women 56.7%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	9.5%	13.5%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,242	1,332
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	Social Sciences Psychology Multidisciplinary Studies Mathematics and Statistics Natural Resources and Conservation	Mathematics and Statistics Foreign Languages and Literatures Multidisciplinary Studies Social Sciences Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	86.6%	89.7%
Dropout rate	5.7%	10.0%
Transferred out	7.5%	N/A
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	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,163 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $72,135 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,896 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $56,193 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,635 Year 2: $35,274 Year 3: $43,620 Geography and Cartography (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,253 Year 2: $32,569 Year 3: $39,047 International/Global Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,368 Year 2: $34,526 Year 3: $36,933 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,116 Year 2: $31,133 Year 3: $34,521 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,444 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,508 Year 3: N/A Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,129 Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: N/A Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,281 Year 3: N/A

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