Mount Holyoke College vs Principia College

Mount Holyoke College and Principia College, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Mount Holyoke, a private liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, boasts a long history of academic excellence and a strong focus on women's education. Principia College, a private Christian college in Elsah, Illinois, emphasizes spiritual growth and service to others within a supportive community. While both colleges share a commitment to providing a high-quality education, they differ in several key aspects, including acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the comparison table below to discover which college better aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.
Mount Holyoke College logo

Mount Holyoke College

Principia College logo

Principia College

Overview

Location South Hadley, Massachusetts Elsah, Illinois
Campus setting Suburb: Large Rural: Fringe
College type 4 year 4 year
Control/business model Private (Non Profit) Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system Semester Semester
Degrees offered Undergraduate and Graduate Undergraduate
Students retention rate 91.0% 81.0%
Common app member Yes Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission

Acceptance rate 52.3% 84.1%
Application fees
Undergraduate: $60

Graduate: $50
SAT range 1300 - 1510 1028 - 1193
ACT range 31 - 35 21 - 28
Students submitting SAT score 24.0% 30.0%
Students submitting ACT score 11.0% 13.0%
Total number of applicants 3,971 138
Total number of admissions given out 2,077 116
Admitted students who chose to enroll 608 79
Yield rate 29.3% 68.1%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Not required 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 $73,438 $42,820
Average net price $29,218 $19,816
Tuition $56,300 $29,970
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $8,320

Meal plan: $8,260
Room/dormitory: $5,810

Meal plan: $6,460
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

100.0%
Average amount $30,351
94.0%
Average amount $25,174
Students receiving federal student loan 42.0%
Average amount $4,906
0.0%
Average amount $0
Students taking out private loans 7.0%
Average amount $4,982
94.0%
Average amount $2,016

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 2,220
Men 0.1% Women 99.9%
321
Men 53.0% Women 47.0%
Graduate students 122
Men 13.1% Women 86.9%
N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity
Low
Low
Out-of-state students N/A 92.7%
International students 23.1% 24.3%
Campus local/setting Suburb: Large Rural: Fringe
Dormitory capacity 2,171 585
First year students are required to live on campus? No No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from Mississippi New York California Connecticut Florida Missouri California Texas Illinois Ohio

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Social Sciences
  • Education
  • Foreign Languages and Literatures
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Visual & Performing Arts
  • Visual & Performing Arts
  • Communication and Journalism
  • Computer and Information Science
  • Social Sciences
  • Business
Students to faculty ratio 10:1 5:1
Institutional accreditation New England Commission on Higher Education Higher Learning Commission

Outcome

Graduation rate 85.0% 85.9%
Dropout rate 2.9% 14.1%
Transferred out 11.9% N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $39,377
  • Year 2: $45,696
  • Year 3: $46,206
Education, Other (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $46,986
  • Year 2: $42,682
  • Year 3: $46,152
Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $42,150
  • Year 2: $35,060
  • Year 3: $44,038
Anthropology (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $32,925
  • Year 3: $37,403
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $30,356
  • Year 2: $36,852
  • Year 3: $35,497
Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $26,353
  • Year 3: $34,113
Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $31,168
  • Year 2: $30,409
  • Year 3: $33,868
English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $28,960
  • Year 3: $30,295
History (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $24,035
  • Year 3: $30,137
Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $28,160
  • Year 2: $28,598
  • Year 3: $29,034
N/A

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.