Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) vs Grinnell College

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and Grinnell College, while both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. MCLA, a public liberal arts college in North Adams, Massachusetts, boasts an acceptance rate of 88%, making it more accessible to a wider range of students. Grinnell, a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, is more selective, with an acceptance rate of 18%. MCLA's student body is predominantly female (62%), while Grinnell's is more evenly balanced (51% female, 49% male). Both colleges offer a diverse range of majors, with popular choices at MCLA including Business Administration, Psychology, and Criminal Justice, and popular choices at Grinnell including Economics, Biology, and Political Science. With graduation rates of 58% and 89% respectively, both institutions are committed to student success, though Grinnell's higher rate may be attributed to its smaller class sizes and more personalized attention

	Grinnell College	Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Overview
Location	Grinnell, Iowa	North Adams, Massachusetts
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Town: Fringe
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	93.0%	63.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	10.5%	91.0%
Application fees		$50
SAT range	1370 - 1530	N/A
ACT range	30 - 34	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	29.0%
Students submitting ACT score	33.0%
Total number of applicants	10,513	1,371
Total number of admissions given out	1,108	1,247
Admitted students who chose to enroll	471	167
Yield rate	42.5%	13.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	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	$76,098	In state: $25,928 Out of state: $34,873
Average net price	$37,423	$14,902
Tuition	$58,156	In state: $1,030 Out of state: $9,975
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,779 Meal plan: $7,572	Room/dormitory: $7,240 Meal plan: $5,044
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $35,821	99.0% Average amount $8,496
Students receiving federal student loan	36.0% Average amount $3,952	97.0% Average amount $3,734
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $5,903	12.0% Average amount $9,492

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,748 Men 47.5% Women 52.5%	870 Men 39.2% Women 60.8%
Graduate students	N/A	124 Men 33.1% Women 66.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	91.5%	N/A
International students	19.4%	N/A
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	1,450	1,020
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Illinois Iowa Minnesota Texas	Mississippi New York Vermont Connecticut Rhode Island

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Physical Science Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science	Business Education Computer and Information Science Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	86.9%	58.4%
Dropout rate	12.9%	41.6%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,661 Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $55,487 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,893 Year 2: $34,704 Year 3: $49,481 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,499 Year 2: $29,141 Year 3: $41,882 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,517 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $40,572 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: $37,882 Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,508 Year 3: $37,613 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,718 Year 2: $19,227 Year 3: $29,237 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $28,680 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,658 Year 2: $91,744 Year 3: N/A Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,239 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,895 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $73,830 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,172 Year 2: $34,467 Year 3: $40,733 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,359 Year 2: $27,181 Year 3: $40,148 Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,284 Year 3: $35,408 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,617 Year 2: $32,569 Year 3: $34,741 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,798 Year 2: $31,828 Year 3: $32,817 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,438 Year 2: $28,236 Year 3: $32,425 Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,231 Year 2: $29,374 Year 3: $31,158 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,032 Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: N/A Visual and Performing Arts, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,169 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A

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