Ripon College vs Lakeland University

Ripon College and Lakeland University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Ripon, a private liberal arts college, boasts a selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 68%, while Lakeland, a private university, welcomes a broader range of students with an acceptance rate of 88%. Ripon's student body is predominantly White (79%) and female (59%), while Lakeland's student body is more diverse, with a larger proportion of male students (53%) and a more even distribution of racial and ethnic groups. In terms of academics, Ripon offers a comprehensive liberal arts curriculum with popular majors in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, while Lakeland emphasizes career preparation with popular majors in business, education, and nursing. Both institutions offer a supportive learning environment with small class sizes and dedicated faculty, but Ripon's higher graduation rate (75%) suggests a stronger focus on academic rigor. Explore the detailed comparison table below to

	Lakeland University	Ripon College
Overview
Location	Plymouth, Wisconsin	Ripon, Wisconsin
Campus setting	Rural: Fringe	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	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Protestant

Admission
Acceptance rate	80.1%	79.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $35 Graduate: $50	$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	1,101	2,486
Total number of admissions given out	882	1,983
Admitted students who chose to enroll	164	247
Yield rate	18.6%	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	$46,170	$57,200
Average net price	$21,470	$21,734
Tuition	$29,950	$47,800
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,776 Meal plan: $5,266	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 $23,257	100.0% Average amount $36,789
Students receiving federal student loan	97.0% Average amount $5,129	79.0% Average amount $5,232
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $13,312	16.0% Average amount $13,915

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,488 Men 42.7% Women 57.3%	810 Men 50.2% Women 49.8%
Graduate students	606 Men 31.4% Women 68.6%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	42.5%	N/A
International students	1.0%	1.6%
Campus local/setting	Rural: Fringe	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	543	952
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Wisconsin Illinois Texas Michigan California	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Education Computer and Information Science Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Physical Science Social Sciences Education Psychology
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	14:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	43.4%	62.0%
Dropout rate	55.1%	38.0%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,510 Year 2: $60,689 Year 3: $64,046 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,121 Year 2: $55,625 Year 3: $61,242 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,541 Year 2: $45,207 Year 3: $47,602 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,527 Year 2: $43,207 Year 3: $46,263 Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $41,345 Year 2: $40,305 Year 3: $44,211 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,440 Year 2: $44,091 Year 3: $43,882 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $42,696 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $42,309 Year 2: $39,909 Year 3: $42,256 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,136 Year 2: $36,490 Year 3: $41,347 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,481 Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: $38,968	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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