Macalester College vs Virginia Military Institute

Macalester College and Virginia Military Institute (VMI) stand as two distinct institutions of higher learning, each offering a unique educational experience. Macalester, a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota, boasts an acceptance rate of 34%, while VMI, a public military college in Lexington, Virginia, maintains a more selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 22%. Macalester's student body is diverse, with 45% of undergraduates identifying as students of color, while VMI's student body is predominantly male (98%) and white (70%). Both institutions offer a range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors at Macalester including psychology, economics, and biology, and popular majors at VMI including civil engineering, business administration, and mechanical engineering. While Macalester boasts a higher graduation rate (84%) compared to VMI's 69%, both colleges provide their graduates with strong career prospects. Explore the detailed
Macalester College logo

Macalester College

Virginia Military Institute logo

Virginia Military Institute

Overview

Location Saint Paul, Minnesota Lexington, Virginia
Campus setting City: Large Town: Distant
College type 4 year 4 year
Control/business model Private (Non Profit) Public
Calendar system Semester Semester
Degrees offered Undergraduate Undergraduate
Students retention rate 96.0% 87.0%
Common app member No Yes
Religious affiliation Presbyterian

Admission

Acceptance rate 31.3% 63.9%
Application fees $40 $40
SAT range 1340 - 1515 1080 - 1300
ACT range 29 - 33 22 - 27
Students submitting SAT score 35.0% 29.0%
Students submitting ACT score 39.0% 12.0%
Total number of applicants 9,046 1,549
Total number of admissions given out 2,828 990
Admitted students who chose to enroll 601 461
Yield rate 21.3% 46.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Not required Not 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
In state: $33,182

Out of state: $61,836
Average net price $30,939 $18,100
Tuition $60,288
In state: $9,782

Out of state: $38,436
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $7,272

Meal plan: $6,270
Room/dormitory: $3,102

Meal plan: $7,260
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

87.0%
Average amount $42,832
91.0%
Average amount $10,832
Students receiving federal student loan 39.0%
Average amount $4,799
59.0%
Average amount $3,385
Students taking out private loans 29.0%
Average amount $4,321
11.0%
Average amount $22,604

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 2,244
Men 43.3% Women 56.7%
1,652
Men 86.2% Women 13.8%
Graduate students N/A N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity
Low
Low
Out-of-state students N/A 38.2%
International students 13.5% 1.7%
Campus local/setting City: Large Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity 1,332 1,751
First year students are required to live on campus? Yes Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from N/A Virginia Pennsylvania Maryland North Carolina New Jersey

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Mathematics and Statistics
  • Foreign Languages and Literatures
  • Multidisciplinary Studies
  • Social Sciences
  • Computer and Information Science
  • Engineering
  • Social Sciences
  • Psychology
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • History
Students to faculty ratio 10:1 10:1
Institutional accreditation Higher Learning Commission Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome

Graduation rate 89.7% 73.7%
Dropout rate 10.0% 4.4%
Transferred out N/A 21.7%
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
Economics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $41,118
  • Year 2: $41,937
  • Year 3: $60,559
Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $41,215
  • Year 2: $44,942
  • Year 3: $59,186
Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $47,030
  • Year 2: $49,270
  • Year 3: $57,955
International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $39,302
  • Year 2: $39,305
  • Year 3: $55,311
History (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $39,325
  • Year 2: $45,094
  • Year 3: $55,205
Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $38,487
  • Year 2: $38,649
  • Year 3: $52,930
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $39,025
  • Year 2: $39,909
  • Year 3: $52,845
Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $38,712
  • Year 2: $41,007
  • Year 3: $43,814
Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $43,367
  • Year 2: $64,493
  • Year 3: N/A
English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $39,671
  • Year 2: $46,087
  • Year 3: N/A

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