Ripon College vs Bethany College

Ripon College and Bethany Lutheran College, while both offering a high-quality education, present distinct experiences for prospective students. Ripon College, a private liberal arts college, boasts a lower acceptance rate of 68% compared to Bethany Lutheran College's 98%. Ripon's student body is more diverse, with 44% of students identifying as students of color, while Bethany Lutheran's student body is predominantly White (92%). Ripon offers a wider range of academic programs, with popular majors including Business, Biology, and Psychology, while Bethany Lutheran focuses primarily on liberal arts and sciences, with popular majors such as Elementary Education, Business Administration, and Biology. Both institutions offer competitive graduation rates, with Ripon's at 78% and Bethany Lutheran's at 68%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions between these two institutions and determine which aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Bethany Lutheran College	Ripon College
Overview
Location	Mankato, Minnesota	Ripon, Wisconsin
Campus setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
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	73.0%	72.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	61.5%	79.8%
Application fees	$40	$30
SAT range	N/A	940 - 1160
ACT range	N/A	20 - 27
Students submitting SAT score		10.0%
Students submitting ACT score		62.0%
Total number of applicants	714	2,486
Total number of admissions given out	439	1,983
Admitted students who chose to enroll	199	247
Yield rate	45.3%	12.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$39,490	$57,200
Average net price	$17,640	$21,734
Tuition	$27,980	$47,800
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $3,840 Meal plan: $4,280	Room/dormitory: $4,530 Meal plan: $4,560
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $21,117	100.0% Average amount $36,789
Students receiving federal student loan	49.0% Average amount $5,283	79.0% Average amount $5,232
Students taking out private loans	15.0% Average amount $9,790	16.0% Average amount $13,915

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	781 Men 44.7% Women 55.3%	810 Men 50.2% Women 49.8%
Graduate students	17 Men 64.7% Women 35.3%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	38.9%	N/A
International students	16.8%	1.6%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	547	952
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Minnesota Wisconsin Arizona South Dakota Florida	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences Visual & Performing Arts Education Engineering	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Physical Science Social Sciences Education Psychology
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	14:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	62.7%	62.0%
Dropout rate	16.4%	38.0%
Transferred out	20.9%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,098 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $41,290 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $27,488 Year 3: $27,943 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: N/A Visual and Performing Arts, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: N/A Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A	Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,869 Year 2: $34,704 Year 3: $44,323 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,133 Year 3: $42,581 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,399 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: $32,733 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,523 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,277 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,328 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,366 Year 2: $43,426 Year 3: N/A History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: N/A

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