Swarthmore vs Duke University

Swarthmore College and Duke University, both highly regarded institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Swarthmore, a liberal arts college, boasts a tight-knit community with a focus on undergraduate teaching and research. Duke, a research university, provides a wide range of academic programs and opportunities for interdisciplinary study. With Swarthmore's acceptance rate at 8% and Duke's at 10%, both institutions are highly selective. Swarthmore's student body is smaller and more diverse, with a higher percentage of international students. Duke's larger student body offers a more vibrant social scene and a wider array of extracurricular activities. While Swarthmore excels in the social sciences and humanities, Duke is known for its strengths in engineering, business, and the natural sciences. Both institutions offer excellent career prospects for graduates, with high placement rates and strong alumni networks. Explore the comparison table to discover more about these two exceptional institutions and determine which one aligns best with your academic

	Duke University	Swarthmore College
Overview
Location	Durham, North Carolina	Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
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	98.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	5.9%	7.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $85 Graduate: $95	$60
SAT range	1468 - 1558	1430 - 1560
ACT range	33 - 35	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	47.0%	39.0%
Students submitting ACT score	46.0%	21.0%
Total number of applicants	49,703	13,012
Total number of admissions given out	2,927	1,013
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,744	454
Yield rate	59.6%	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	$79,860	$75,793
Average net price	$27,297	$19,733
Tuition	$58,085	$55,856
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,164 Meal plan: $6,862	Room/dormitory: $8,796 Meal plan: $8,354
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	46.0% Average amount $50,731	76.0% Average amount $40,072
Students receiving federal student loan	20.0% Average amount $4,537	6.0% Average amount $5,191
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $22,957	1.0% Average amount $30,543

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	6,883 Men 48.4% Women 51.6%	1,651 Men 49.7% Women 50.3%
Graduate students	10,737 Men 45.5% Women 54.5%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	89.9%
International students	21.4%	15.4%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	5,718	1,605
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	New York California Pennsylvania New Jersey Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Engineering Legal Profession Social Sciences	Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science Engineering Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	6:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	95.9%	94.1%
Dropout rate	4.0%	5.7%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	International Business (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $151,472 Year 2: $213,978 Year 3: $201,782 Law (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $155,031 Year 2: $168,098 Year 3: $200,300 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $143,622 Year 2: $148,189 Year 3: $163,560 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $163,977 Year 2: $138,342 Year 3: $159,598 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $115,135 Year 2: $106,898 Year 3: $134,542 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $123,138 Year 2: $116,541 Year 3: $124,406 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $108,817 Year 2: $97,071 Year 3: $117,262 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $94,699 Year 2: $90,856 Year 3: $112,646 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,661 Year 2: $91,078 Year 3: $108,736 Economics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $104,348	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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