Macalester College vs Williams College

Macalester College and Williams 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 Williams, nestled in Williamstown, Massachusetts, is known for its rigorous academics and stunning rural campus. With acceptance rates of 28% and 13%, respectively, these colleges attract top students from around the world. While Macalester offers a wider range of majors, including popular choices like psychology, economics, and biology, Williams excels in the humanities and social sciences, with majors like English, history, and political science being particularly popular. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these institutions' graduation rates, student demographics, and other key differences, and make an informed decision about which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Macalester College	Williams College
Overview
Location	Saint Paul, Minnesota	Williamstown, Massachusetts
Campus setting	City: Large	Town: Fringe
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	96.0%	97.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	31.3%	8.8%
Application fees	$40	$65
SAT range	1340 - 1515	N/A
ACT range	29 - 33	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	35.0%
Students submitting ACT score	39.0%
Total number of applicants	9,046	12,452
Total number of admissions given out	2,828	1,099
Admitted students who chose to enroll	601	574
Yield rate	21.3%	52.2%
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)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$76,357	$78,060
Average net price	$30,939	$14,487
Tuition	$60,288	$59,350
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,272 Meal plan: $6,270	Room/dormitory: $7,625 Meal plan: $7,375
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	87.0% Average amount $42,832	52.0% Average amount $52,053
Students receiving federal student loan	39.0% Average amount $4,799	13.0% Average amount $3,992
Students taking out private loans	29.0% Average amount $4,321	2.0% Average amount $3,884

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,244 Men 43.3% Women 56.7%	2,174 Men 48.1% Women 51.9%
Graduate students	N/A	50 Men 44.0% Women 56.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	13.5%	9.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	1,332	2,045
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Mathematics and Statistics Foreign Languages and Literatures Multidisciplinary Studies Social Sciences Computer and Information Science	Mathematics and Statistics Visual & Performing Arts Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Ethnic Studies
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	6:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	89.7%	93.8%
Dropout rate	10.0%	3.1%
Transferred out	N/A	1.6%
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	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $109,470 Year 2: $96,183 Year 3: $99,047 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $83,280 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $91,723 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,217 Year 2: $53,358 Year 3: $63,034 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,948 Year 2: $44,384 Year 3: $48,967 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,036 Year 2: $49,464 Year 3: $44,771 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,993 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $43,402 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,135 Year 2: $40,461 Year 3: $41,065 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,760 Year 2: $34,704 Year 3: $37,587 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,029 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $26,432 Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,668 Year 2: $25,525 Year 3: $14,771

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Macalester College vs Williams College

Macalester College

Williams College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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