Swarthmore vs Stanford

Swarthmore College and Stanford University, two prestigious institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Swarthmore, a liberal arts college in Pennsylvania, boasts a tight-knit community and a focus on undergraduate teaching, while Stanford, a research university in California, is renowned for its academic excellence and cutting-edge research opportunities. With acceptance rates of 8% and 4%, respectively, both institutions are highly selective. Swarthmore's popular majors include Economics, Political Science, and English, while Stanford students commonly pursue degrees in Computer Science, Engineering, and Economics. Swarthmore's student body is more diverse, with 48% students of color compared to Stanford's 25%. Both institutions boast impressive graduation rates, with Swarthmore at 94% and Stanford at 95%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions and determine which institution aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Stanford University	Swarthmore College
Overview
Location	Stanford, California	Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	98.0%	95.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	3.9%	7.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $90 Graduate: $125	$60
SAT range	1470 - 1570	1430 - 1560
ACT range	34 - 35	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	15.0%	39.0%
Students submitting ACT score	11.0%	21.0%
Total number of applicants	55,471	13,012
Total number of admissions given out	2,190	1,013
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,757	454
Yield rate	80.2%	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	$78,898	$75,793
Average net price	$14,402	$19,733
Tuition	$55,473	$55,856
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $11,166 Meal plan: $6,694	Room/dormitory: $8,796 Meal plan: $8,354
Available payment plans		Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	61.0% Average amount $56,211	76.0% Average amount $40,072
Students receiving federal student loan	5.0% Average amount $5,151	6.0% Average amount $5,191
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $17,186	1.0% Average amount $30,543

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	7,645 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%	1,651 Men 49.7% Women 50.3%
Graduate students	10,035 Men 56.5% Women 43.5%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	58.5%	89.9%
International students	24.4%	15.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	14,621	1,605
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Texas Washington New York Illinois	New York California Pennsylvania New Jersey Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Computer and Information Science Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences Physical Science	Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science Engineering Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	5:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	95.5%	94.1%
Dropout rate	1.7%	5.7%
Transferred out	0.6%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $151,574 Year 2: $170,457 Year 3: $210,837 Computer Science (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $159,729 Year 2: $168,942 Year 3: $203,193 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $164,734 Year 2: $163,337 Year 3: $187,054 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $137,457 Year 2: $150,874 Year 3: $173,548 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $136,126 Year 2: $136,499 Year 3: $165,375 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $128,556 Year 2: $135,709 Year 3: $157,500 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $123,354 Year 2: $106,421 Year 3: $139,234 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $105,326 Year 2: $111,435 Year 3: $126,185 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,457 Year 2: $90,856 Year 3: $107,477 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,475 Year 2: $85,391 Year 3: $104,592	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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