Macalester College vs Dartmouth

Macalester College and Dartmouth College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Macalester, a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota, boasts a tight-knit community and a focus on global education, with over 50% of students studying abroad. Dartmouth, an Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, is renowned for its rigorous academics, vibrant Greek life, and strong alumni network. While both colleges share a commitment to academic excellence, they differ in acceptance rates (Macalester at 29% and Dartmouth at 7.9%), popular majors (Macalester's social sciences and Dartmouth's engineering), student body demographics (Macalester's diverse student body and Dartmouth's predominantly white student body), and graduation rates (Macalester's 84% and Dartmouth's 96%). Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover which college better aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Dartmouth College	Macalester College
Overview
Location	Hanover, New Hampshire	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	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	98.0%	96.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation		Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	6.2%	31.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $80 Graduate: $50	$40
SAT range	1440 - 1560	1340 - 1515
ACT range	33 - 35	29 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	47.0%	35.0%
Students submitting ACT score	30.0%	39.0%
Total number of applicants	28,356	9,046
Total number of admissions given out	1,750	2,828
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,221	601
Yield rate	69.8%	21.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$81,501	$76,357
Average net price	$24,078	$30,939
Tuition	$58,953	$60,288
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $10,569 Meal plan: $6,792	Room/dormitory: $7,272 Meal plan: $6,270
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	48.0% Average amount $56,106	87.0% Average amount $42,832
Students receiving federal student loan	20.0% Average amount $5,066	39.0% Average amount $4,799
Students taking out private loans	37.0% Average amount $5,335	29.0% Average amount $4,321

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	4,556 Men 50.7% Women 49.3%	2,244 Men 43.3% Women 56.7%
Graduate students	2,205 Men 50.4% Women 49.6%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	97.3%	N/A
International students	17.0%	13.5%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	3,733	1,332
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California New York Mississippi New Jersey Texas	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Engineering Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics	Mathematics and Statistics Foreign Languages and Literatures Multidisciplinary Studies Social Sciences Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.6%	89.7%
Dropout rate	4.9%	10.0%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $160,724 Year 2: $167,295 Year 3: $180,970 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $111,259 Year 2: $113,015 Year 3: $128,856 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $85,069 Year 2: $87,604 Year 3: $98,252 Public Health (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $77,715 Year 3: $88,684 Engineering Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,341 Year 2: $78,343 Year 3: $81,883 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,277 Year 2: $64,990 Year 3: $81,813 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,302 Year 2: $48,432 Year 3: $80,946 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,095 Year 2: $62,192 Year 3: $75,463 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,013 Year 2: $103,078 Year 3: $71,100 Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $58,996 Year 2: $61,728 Year 3: $70,914	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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