Philander Smith College vs Spelman College

Philander Smith College and Spelman College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Philander Smith College, located in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a historically Black college with a rich history and a focus on providing affordable, quality education to its students. Spelman College, situated in Atlanta, Georgia, is also a historically Black college with a strong emphasis on liberal arts and sciences education for women. While both institutions share a commitment to academic excellence and fostering a diverse and inclusive campus community, they differ in several key aspects, including acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover the nuances that set these two colleges apart and make an informed decision about which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Philander Smith College	Spelman College
Overview
Location	Little Rock, Arkansas	Atlanta, Georgia
Campus setting	City: Midsize	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	55.0%	91.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	Open Admission	50.8%
Application fees	$25	$40
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants		11,176
Total number of admissions given out		5,673
Admitted students who chose to enroll		794
Yield rate		14.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)		N/A
High school GPA	N/A	Required
Recommendation letters	N/A	Required
High school transcript	N/A	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	N/A	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$31,724	$48,244
Average net price	$14,396	$28,527
Tuition	$11,804	$25,249
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,192 Meal plan: $3,058	$15,063
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $11,505	96.0% Average amount $10,839
Students receiving federal student loan	57.0% Average amount $5,451	76.0% Average amount $5,707
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $0	5.0% Average amount $13,717

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	710 Men 36.1% Women 63.9%	2,417 Men 0.0% Women 100.0%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	76.0%
International students	5.4%	0.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	522	1,401
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Georgia Maryland Texas California New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences Psychology Law Enforcement and Firefighting Social Sciences	Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Psychology Health Professions English Language and Literature
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	11:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	28.2%	76.2%
Dropout rate	68.8%	9.2%
Transferred out	N/A	13.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,677 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: $34,628 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,231 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $28,884 Biological and Physical Sciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,774 Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: N/A	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,695 Year 2: $48,667 Year 3: $59,027 International/Global Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,667 Year 2: $37,748 Year 3: $52,483 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,355 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $44,720 Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,573 Year 2: $35,600 Year 3: $39,388 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,944 Year 2: $25,525 Year 3: $39,024 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,532 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $38,350 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,318 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $20,552 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,181 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: N/A Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $15,552 Year 3: 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.

Philander Smith College

Tuskegee University