Macalester College vs Principia College

Macalester College and Principia College, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Macalester, a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota, boasts an acceptance rate of 34%, while Principia, a private Christian college in Elsah, Illinois, has a higher acceptance rate of 75%. Macalester's student body is more diverse, with 45% of students identifying as students of color compared to Principia's 10%. Both colleges offer a range of popular majors, including biology, psychology, and business, but Macalester has a higher graduation rate of 84% compared to Principia's 75%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences between these two institutions and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Macalester College	Principia College
Overview
Location	Saint Paul, Minnesota	Elsah, Illinois
Campus setting	City: Large	Rural: Fringe
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	96.0%	81.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	31.3%	84.1%
Application fees	$40
SAT range	1340 - 1515	1028 - 1193
ACT range	29 - 33	21 - 28
Students submitting SAT score	35.0%	30.0%
Students submitting ACT score	39.0%	13.0%
Total number of applicants	9,046	138
Total number of admissions given out	2,828	116
Admitted students who chose to enroll	601	79
Yield rate	21.3%	68.1%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$76,357	$42,820
Average net price	$30,939	$19,816
Tuition	$60,288	$29,970
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,272 Meal plan: $6,270	Room/dormitory: $5,810 Meal plan: $6,460
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	87.0% Average amount $42,832	94.0% Average amount $25,174
Students receiving federal student loan	39.0% Average amount $4,799	0.0% Average amount $0
Students taking out private loans	29.0% Average amount $4,321	94.0% Average amount $2,016

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,244 Men 43.3% Women 56.7%	321 Men 53.0% Women 47.0%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	92.7%
International students	13.5%	24.3%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Rural: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	1,332	585
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Missouri California Texas Illinois Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Mathematics and Statistics Foreign Languages and Literatures Multidisciplinary Studies Social Sciences Computer and Information Science	Visual & Performing Arts Communication and Journalism Computer and Information Science Social Sciences Business
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	5:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	89.7%	85.9%
Dropout rate	10.0%	14.1%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	N/A

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Macalester College vs Principia College

Macalester College

Principia College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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