Swarthmore vs Carleton College

Swarthmore College and Carleton College, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Swarthmore, located in Pennsylvania, boasts a slightly higher acceptance rate (11.4%) compared to Carleton's (9.6%). While Swarthmore's student body is more diverse, Carleton has a slightly higher graduation rate (91% vs. 89%). Both colleges excel in academics, with popular majors including Economics, Political Science, and English. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these colleges' differences in cost, financial aid, student life, and more, helping you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Carleton College	Swarthmore College
Overview
Location	Northfield, Minnesota	Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Trimester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	95.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	17.5%	7.8%
Application fees		$60
SAT range	1408 - 1550	1430 - 1560
ACT range	31 - 35	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	35.0%	39.0%
Students submitting ACT score	34.0%	21.0%
Total number of applicants	7,915	13,012
Total number of admissions given out	1,389	1,013
Admitted students who chose to enroll	555	454
Yield rate	40.0%	44.8%
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)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$78,315	$75,793
Average net price	$31,718	$19,733
Tuition	$59,850	$55,856
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,115 Meal plan: $7,260	Room/dormitory: $8,796 Meal plan: $8,354
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	65.0% Average amount $45,715	76.0% Average amount $40,072
Students receiving federal student loan	45.0% Average amount $3,914	6.0% Average amount $5,191
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $14,334	1.0% Average amount $30,543

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,044 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%	1,651 Men 49.7% Women 50.3%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	81.5%	89.9%
International students	10.2%	15.4%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,854	1,605
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Minnesota California Illinois New York Texas	New York California Pennsylvania New Jersey Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Mathematics and Statistics Visual & Performing Arts	Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science Engineering Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	8:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	91.4%	94.1%
Dropout rate	8.3%	5.7%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,876 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $101,936 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,032 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $66,207 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,526 Year 2: $23,034 Year 3: $30,071 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,669 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,425 Year 2: $22,329 Year 3: N/A Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,952 Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: N/A Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,227 Year 2: $36,141 Year 3: N/A Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,625 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Physics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $42,774 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,301 Year 2: $33,719 Year 3: N/A	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $97,897 Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $113,966 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,029 Year 2: $81,702 Year 3: $88,391 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,119 Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $44,841 Education, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $42,944 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,425 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $36,220 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,963 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,964 Year 2: $125,015 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $43,426 Year 3: N/A

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Swarthmore vs Carleton College

Carleton College

Swarthmore College

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Financial Aid

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Academics

Outcome

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