Swarthmore vs Colby College

Swarthmore College and Colby College, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Swarthmore, located in Pennsylvania, boasts a lower acceptance rate (10%) compared to Colby's (15%), indicating its highly selective admissions process. Swarthmore's student body is slightly larger, with an undergraduate population of around 1,500 students, while Colby's undergraduate population is approximately 1,800. Both colleges offer a diverse range of academic programs, with popular majors including Economics, Political Science, and English at Swarthmore, and Government, Economics, and Biology at Colby. While Swarthmore has a slightly higher graduation rate (91%) than Colby (89%), both institutions are known for their commitment to academic excellence and preparing students for successful careers. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and similarities between these two exceptional colleges and make an informed decision about which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal

	Colby College	Swarthmore College
Overview
Location	Waterville, Maine	Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
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
Students retention rate	95.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.9%	7.8%
Application fees		$60
SAT range	1400 - 1530	1430 - 1560
ACT range	32 - 34	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	40.0%	39.0%
Students submitting ACT score	28.0%	21.0%
Total number of applicants	15,857	13,012
Total number of admissions given out	1,407	1,013
Admitted students who chose to enroll	667	454
Yield rate	47.4%	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)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$68,825	$75,793
Average net price	$17,912	$19,733
Tuition	$58,640	$55,856
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,150 Meal plan: $7,595	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)	39.0% Average amount $58,513	76.0% Average amount $40,072
Students receiving federal student loan	8.0% Average amount $5,140	6.0% Average amount $5,191
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $18,242	1.0% Average amount $30,543

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,262 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	1,651 Men 49.7% Women 50.3%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	89.9%
International students	9.5%	15.4%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,242	1,605
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	New York California Pennsylvania New Jersey Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Psychology Multidisciplinary Studies Mathematics and Statistics Natural Resources and Conservation	Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science Engineering Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	86.6%	94.1%
Dropout rate	5.7%	5.7%
Transferred out	7.5%	N/A
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	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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