Smith College vs Colby College

Smith College and Colby College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Smith, a women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, boasts a tight-knit community and a strong focus on empowering women. Colby, a coeducational college in Waterville, Maine, emphasizes experiential learning and boasts a picturesque campus. With acceptance rates of 34% and 14%, respectively, both colleges are highly selective. Smith's popular majors include social sciences, humanities, and biological sciences, while Colby's strengths lie in the social sciences, biological sciences, and physical sciences. Smith's student body is predominantly female, while Colby's is more evenly split between men and women. Both colleges boast impressive graduation rates, with Smith at 88% and Colby at 89%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two exceptional institutions and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Colby College	Smith College
Overview
Location	Waterville, Maine	Northampton, Massachusetts
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	4-1-4	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	95.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.9%	29.9%
Application fees		$60
SAT range	1400 - 1530	1370 - 1530
ACT range	32 - 34	31 - 34
Students submitting SAT score	40.0%	34.0%
Students submitting ACT score	28.0%	20.0%
Total number of applicants	15,857	6,064
Total number of admissions given out	1,407	1,814
Admitted students who chose to enroll	667	676
Yield rate	47.4%	37.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$68,825	$68,128
Average net price	$17,912	$29,569
Tuition	$58,640	$55,830
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,150 Meal plan: $7,595	Room/dormitory: $9,700 Meal plan: $9,720
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	39.0% Average amount $58,513	70.0% Average amount $44,108
Students receiving federal student loan	8.0% Average amount $5,140	35.0% Average amount $3,560
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $18,242	5.0% Average amount $8,280

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,262 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	2,566 Men 0.1% Women 99.9%
Graduate students	N/A	358 Men 16.2% Women 83.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	9.5%	13.4%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,242	2,519
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Mississippi New York California Connecticut Maryland

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Psychology Multidisciplinary Studies Mathematics and Statistics Natural Resources and Conservation	Public Administration and Social Service Engineering Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	86.6%	91.0%
Dropout rate	5.7%	3.6%
Transferred out	7.5%	5.1%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,540 Year 2: $57,995 Year 3: $83,980 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,972 Year 2: $47,118 Year 3: $55,529 International/Global Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,350 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $53,638 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $42,883 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,156 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $40,423 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,612 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $41,193 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: N/A Anthropology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,971 Year 3: N/A	Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,496 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $70,990 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $47,650 Year 3: $56,651 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,011 Year 2: $45,554 Year 3: $53,962 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $46,620 Year 3: $53,886 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $42,098 Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $48,619 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,776 Year 2: $39,153 Year 3: $43,120 Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,839 Year 3: $41,147 Research and Experimental Psychology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,006 Year 2: $18,566 Year 3: $41,145 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,954 Year 2: $28,019 Year 3: $40,411 Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $34,603 Year 3: $38,497

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