Ripon College vs Central College

Ripon College and Central College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Ripon, nestled in the charming town of Ripon, Wisconsin, boasts a higher acceptance rate (73%) compared to Central's 68%. Central, located in the vibrant city of Pella, Iowa, excels in STEM fields, with popular majors like Biology and Engineering, while Ripon's strengths lie in the Humanities and Social Sciences, with majors like English and History being highly sought after. Central's student body is slightly larger, with a diverse mix of ethnicities and international students, while Ripon's student population is predominantly White. Both colleges boast impressive graduation rates, with Ripon's at 79% and Central's at 77%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions and determine which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Central College	Ripon College
Overview
Location	Pella, Iowa	Ripon, Wisconsin
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Town: Distant
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	79.0%	72.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Protestant

Admission
Acceptance rate	74.5%	79.8%
Application fees	$25	$30
SAT range	1000 - 1260	940 - 1160
ACT range	19 - 25	20 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	10.0%	10.0%
Students submitting ACT score	67.0%	62.0%
Total number of applicants	2,202	2,486
Total number of admissions given out	1,641	1,983
Admitted students who chose to enroll	340	247
Yield rate	20.7%	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	$34,302	$57,200
Average net price	$22,966	$21,734
Tuition	$19,250	$47,800
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,892 Meal plan: $5,660	Room/dormitory: $4,530 Meal plan: $4,560
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $10,353	100.0% Average amount $36,789
Students receiving federal student loan	73.0% Average amount $5,605	79.0% Average amount $5,232
Students taking out private loans	13.0% Average amount $12,712	16.0% Average amount $13,915

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,139 Men 51.3% Women 48.7%	810 Men 50.2% Women 49.8%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	0.1%	1.6%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	1,405	952
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Communication and Journalism Education Business English Language and Literature	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	66.1%	62.0%
Dropout rate	2.5%	38.0%
Transferred out	31.0%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $53,045 Year 3: $57,439 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,169 Year 2: $44,542 Year 3: $50,519 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,119 Year 3: $48,234 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,721 Year 3: $41,814 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $36,848 Year 3: $40,707 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: $37,077 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,314 Year 3: $33,927 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $46,790 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,508 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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Ripon College vs Central College

Central College

Ripon College

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