Swarthmore vs Reed College

Swarthmore College and Reed College, both highly selective liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Swarthmore, located in Pennsylvania, boasts a slightly higher acceptance rate (11.4%) compared to Reed's 34.5% in Oregon. Swarthmore students pursue diverse interests, with popular majors including engineering, economics, and political science, while Reed students often gravitate towards humanities and social sciences, with majors like English, history, and psychology being highly sought after. Swarthmore's student body is slightly larger, with an undergraduate enrollment of 1,535 compared to Reed's 1,440, and the graduation rates reflect this difference, with Swarthmore's being slightly higher at 94% compared to Reed's 88%. To help you make an informed decision about which college is the right fit for you, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into these and other key differences in

	Reed College	Swarthmore College
Overview
Location	Portland, Oregon	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	88.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	43.8%	7.8%
Application fees	$75	$60
SAT range	N/A	1430 - 1560
ACT range	N/A	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score		39.0%
Students submitting ACT score		21.0%
Total number of applicants	7,010	13,012
Total number of admissions given out	3,071	1,013
Admitted students who chose to enroll	502	454
Yield rate	16.3%	44.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	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	$77,020	$75,793
Average net price	$33,056	$19,733
Tuition	$62,420	$55,856
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,130 Meal plan: $7,510	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)	58.0% Average amount $43,945	76.0% Average amount $40,072
Students receiving federal student loan	46.0% Average amount $4,374	6.0% Average amount $5,191
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $19,335	1.0% Average amount $30,543

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,548 Men 41.6% Women 58.4%	1,651 Men 49.7% Women 50.3%
Graduate students	18 Men 61.1% Women 38.9%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	88.7%	89.9%
International students	8.8%	15.4%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,113	1,605
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Oregon Washington New York Colorado	New York California Pennsylvania New Jersey Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Physical Science Multidisciplinary Studies Psychology	Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science Engineering Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	72.7%	94.1%
Dropout rate	8.2%	5.7%
Transferred out	17.8%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $18,771 Year 3: $26,088 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $16,874 Year 3: $23,169 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,739 Year 3: N/A Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,125 Year 2: $30,409 Year 3: N/A Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: N/A Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,598 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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