Swarthmore vs Macalester College

Swarthmore College and Macalester College, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Swarthmore, located in Pennsylvania, boasts a lower acceptance rate (10%) compared to Macalester's (28%), indicating its highly selective admissions process. While Swarthmore's student body is slightly larger, both colleges share a commitment to small class sizes, fostering close interactions between students and professors. Explore the comparison table to delve into further details, including popular majors, student demographics, graduation rates, and more, to determine which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Macalester College	Swarthmore College
Overview
Location	Saint Paul, Minnesota	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	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	96.0%	95.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	31.3%	7.8%
Application fees	$40	$60
SAT range	1340 - 1515	1430 - 1560
ACT range	29 - 33	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	35.0%	39.0%
Students submitting ACT score	39.0%	21.0%
Total number of applicants	9,046	13,012
Total number of admissions given out	2,828	1,013
Admitted students who chose to enroll	601	454
Yield rate	21.3%	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	$76,357	$75,793
Average net price	$30,939	$19,733
Tuition	$60,288	$55,856
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,272 Meal plan: $6,270	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)	87.0% Average amount $42,832	76.0% Average amount $40,072
Students receiving federal student loan	39.0% Average amount $4,799	6.0% Average amount $5,191
Students taking out private loans	29.0% Average amount $4,321	1.0% Average amount $30,543

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,244 Men 43.3% Women 56.7%	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	13.5%	15.4%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,332	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	Mathematics and Statistics Foreign Languages and Literatures Multidisciplinary Studies Social Sciences Computer and Information Science	Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science Engineering Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	89.7%	94.1%
Dropout rate	10.0%	5.7%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,163 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $72,135 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,896 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $56,193 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,635 Year 2: $35,274 Year 3: $43,620 Geography and Cartography (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,253 Year 2: $32,569 Year 3: $39,047 International/Global Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,368 Year 2: $34,526 Year 3: $36,933 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,116 Year 2: $31,133 Year 3: $34,521 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,444 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,508 Year 3: N/A Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,129 Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: N/A Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,281 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 Macalester College

Macalester College

Swarthmore College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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