Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) vs Occidental College

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and Occidental College, two distinct institutions with unique offerings, await your exploration. MCLA, a public liberal arts college in North Adams, Massachusetts, boasts a 90% acceptance rate, while Occidental, a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California, has a more selective 33% acceptance rate. MCLA's popular majors include Business Administration, Psychology, and Elementary Education, while Occidental's strengths lie in Economics, Psychology, and Art History. MCLA's student body is predominantly White (73%) and female (61%), while Occidental's student body is more diverse, with a larger Asian population (28%) and a more even gender distribution. Both colleges offer a supportive learning environment with small class sizes, but Occidental's graduation rate (84%) slightly edges out MCLA's (78%). Dive into the comparison table to discover more details and determine which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts	Occidental College
Overview
Location	North Adams, Massachusetts	Los Angeles, California
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	63.0%	92.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	91.0%	38.2%
Application fees	$50	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $60
SAT range	N/A	1340 - 1490
ACT range	N/A	30 - 33
Students submitting SAT score		29.0%
Students submitting ACT score		22.0%
Total number of applicants	1,371	6,495
Total number of admissions given out	1,247	2,484
Admitted students who chose to enroll	167	535
Yield rate	13.4%	21.5%
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)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $25,928 Out of state: $34,873	$77,878
Average net price	$14,902	$43,047
Tuition	In state: $1,030 Out of state: $9,975	$57,830
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,240 Meal plan: $5,044	Room/dormitory: $9,512 Meal plan: $8,090
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $8,496	100.0% Average amount $29,715
Students receiving federal student loan	97.0% Average amount $3,734	31.0% Average amount $4,603
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $9,492	17.0% Average amount $6,554

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	870 Men 39.2% Women 60.8%	1,964 Men 42.1% Women 57.9%
Graduate students	124 Men 33.1% Women 66.9%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	62.5%
International students	N/A	6.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,020	1,650
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Mississippi New York Vermont Connecticut Rhode Island	California Washington New York Illinois Mississippi

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Education Computer and Information Science Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Physical Science Multidisciplinary Studies Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	58.4%	82.9%
Dropout rate	41.6%	4.1%
Transferred out	N/A	12.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,544 Year 2: $55,078 Year 3: $63,231 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,360 Year 2: $37,779 Year 3: $49,843 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,329 Year 2: $36,132 Year 3: $45,083 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,948 Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: $43,488 Cultural Studies/Critical Theory and Analysis (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $33,877 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,967 Year 3: $31,152 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,035 Year 2: $26,933 Year 3: $31,095 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,916 Year 2: $30,047 Year 3: $30,729 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: N/A Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $15,793 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: N/A

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Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) vs Occidental College

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

Occidental College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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