Saint Mary's College of California vs Mount Holyoke College

Saint Mary's College of California and Mount Holyoke College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Saint Mary's, a Catholic liberal arts college in Moraga, California, boasts a diverse student body and a strong focus on social justice. Mount Holyoke, a private liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, is known for its rigorous academics and vibrant arts scene. With acceptance rates of 75% and 33%, respectively, these colleges attract students with varying academic backgrounds. While Saint Mary's offers popular majors in business, psychology, and biology, Mount Holyoke excels in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these colleges' student demographics, graduation rates, and other key differences that may influence your college decision.

	Mount Holyoke College	Saint Mary's College of California
Overview
Location	South Hadley, Massachusetts	Moraga, California
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	91.0%	88.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	52.3%	70.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1300 - 1510	N/A
ACT range	31 - 35	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	24.0%
Students submitting ACT score	11.0%
Total number of applicants	3,971	3,523
Total number of admissions given out	2,077	2,469
Admitted students who chose to enroll	608	421
Yield rate	29.3%	17.1%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$73,438	$71,116
Average net price	$29,218	$25,022
Tuition	$56,300	$51,568
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,320 Meal plan: $8,260	$16,300
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $30,351	100.0% Average amount $37,096
Students receiving federal student loan	42.0% Average amount $4,906	75.0% Average amount $5,473
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $4,982	3.0% Average amount $19,233

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,220 Men 0.1% Women 99.9%	2,199 Men 42.0% Women 58.0%
Graduate students	122 Men 13.1% Women 86.9%	966 Men 35.5% Women 64.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	13.9%
International students	23.1%	2.9%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,171	1,522
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	California Washington Colorado Oregon Hawaii

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Education Foreign Languages and Literatures Biological and Biomedical Sciences Visual & Performing Arts	Education Business Psychology Liberal Arts Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	85.0%	73.1%
Dropout rate	2.9%	26.3%
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	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,339 Year 2: $108,331 Year 3: $119,946 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $70,181 Year 2: $68,219 Year 3: $87,697 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $86,536 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,207 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $72,426 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,833 Year 2: $61,814 Year 3: $68,615 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,015 Year 2: $54,996 Year 3: $67,476 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,013 Year 2: $57,705 Year 3: $61,957 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,519 Year 2: $41,193 Year 3: $60,193 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $57,458 Year 2: $52,562 Year 3: $54,948 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,425 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $50,097

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