Mercyhurst University vs Lafayette College

Mercyhurst University and Lafayette College, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Mercyhurst, a private Catholic university in Erie, Pennsylvania, boasts a welcoming community with a focus on liberal arts and professional programs. Lafayette, a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania, emphasizes experiential learning and interdisciplinary studies. While both institutions share similarities in their commitment to academic excellence, they differ in acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Lafayette College	Mercyhurst University
Overview
Location	Easton, Pennsylvania	Erie, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	91.0%	78.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Presbyterian	Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	40.7%	82.4%
Application fees	$65
SAT range	1300 - 1460	N/A
ACT range	30 - 33	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	28.0%
Students submitting ACT score	13.0%
Total number of applicants	8,262	3,893
Total number of admissions given out	3,366	3,207
Admitted students who chose to enroll	782	625
Yield rate	23.2%	19.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	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	$75,934	$56,475
Average net price	$38,754	$25,785
Tuition	$55,874	$39,750
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $10,308 Meal plan: $6,362	Room/dormitory: $6,966 Meal plan: $6,784
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	61.0% Average amount $34,668	100.0% Average amount $30,945
Students receiving federal student loan	26.0% Average amount $4,491	73.0% Average amount $5,469
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $23,831	19.0% Average amount $17,125

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,725 Men 51.2% Women 48.8%	2,641 Men 40.0% Women 60.0%
Graduate students	N/A	400 Men 35.8% Women 64.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	82.6%	N/A
International students	7.8%	4.5%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	2,510	1,900
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Mississippi Connecticut	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Social Sciences Physical Science Visual & Performing Arts	Health Professions Business Military Technologies Law Enforcement and Firefighting Education
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	14:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	87.9%	62.3%
Dropout rate	2.5%	14.6%
Transferred out	9.6%	22.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,532 Year 2: $68,379 Year 3: $80,306 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,033 Year 2: $65,238 Year 3: $78,021 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $77,247 Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: $76,714 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,784 Year 2: $65,486 Year 3: $76,536 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,714 Year 2: $72,403 Year 3: $75,320 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,927 Year 2: $58,943 Year 3: $72,455 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,229 Year 2: $48,198 Year 3: $60,266 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,408 Year 2: $44,468 Year 3: $57,092 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,680 Year 2: $32,391 Year 3: $50,156 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,170 Year 3: $48,201	Intelligence, Command Control and Information Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,851 Year 2: $49,464 Year 3: $60,543 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,104 Year 2: $50,856 Year 3: $55,368 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,743 Year 2: $48,432 Year 3: $54,163 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $50,420 Year 2: $52,562 Year 3: $52,863 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $50,334 Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $46,945 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $39,580 Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $46,106 Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,341 Year 2: $39,009 Year 3: $45,426 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,961 Year 2: $26,739 Year 3: $41,401 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,610 Year 2: $32,658 Year 3: $40,216

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Mercyhurst University vs Lafayette College

Lafayette College

Mercyhurst University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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