Swarthmore vs University of Virginia-Main Campus (UVA)

Swarthmore College and University of Virginia-Main Campus, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Swarthmore, a private liberal arts college, boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 8.4%, while UVA, a public research university, is more accessible with an acceptance rate of 26.4%. Swarthmore's student body is smaller and more diverse, with 1,535 undergraduates representing 68 countries and 48 states, compared to UVA's 16,988 undergraduates from 100 countries and all 50 states. Both institutions excel in academics, with Swarthmore's popular majors including engineering, social sciences, and humanities, and UVA's popular majors encompassing engineering, business, and social sciences. While Swarthmore boasts a higher graduation rate of 94%, UVA's graduation rate stands at a respectable 84%. Explore the detailed comparison table

	Swarthmore College	University of Virginia-Main Campus
Overview
Location	Swarthmore, Pennsylvania	Charlottesville, Virginia
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	95.0%	97.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	7.8%	20.7%
Application fees	$60	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $85
SAT range	1430 - 1560	1380 - 1500
ACT range	33 - 35	32 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	39.0%	52.0%
Students submitting ACT score	21.0%	21.0%
Total number of applicants	13,012	47,971
Total number of admissions given out	1,013	9,951
Admitted students who chose to enroll	454	3,889
Yield rate	44.8%	39.1%
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	$75,793	In state: $36,314 Out of state: $70,696
Average net price	$19,733	$20,401
Tuition	$55,856	In state: $16,010 Out of state: $49,710
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,796 Meal plan: $8,354	Room/dormitory: $7,110 Meal plan: $5,550
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	76.0% Average amount $40,072	46.0% Average amount $19,612
Students receiving federal student loan	6.0% Average amount $5,191	25.0% Average amount $4,845
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $30,543	6.0% Average amount $11,030

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,651 Men 49.7% Women 50.3%	17,294 Men 43.7% Women 56.3%
Graduate students	N/A	8,711 Men 46.9% Women 53.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	89.9%	35.2%
International students	15.4%	8.8%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Small
Dormitory capacity	1,605	7,645
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York California Pennsylvania New Jersey Texas	Virginia New York Maryland Pennsylvania New Jersey

Academics
Popular study areas	Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science Engineering Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics	Business Health Professions Engineering Social Sciences Education
Students to faculty ratio	8:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	94.1%	93.7%
Dropout rate	5.7%	2.3%
Transferred out	N/A	3.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $185,710 Year 2: $162,255 Year 3: $193,013 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $157,071 Year 2: $155,263 Year 3: $176,237 Computer Software and Media Applications (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,350 Year 2: $101,406 Year 3: $125,729 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $103,426 Year 2: $107,256 Year 3: $120,362 Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,239 Year 2: $95,739 Year 3: $109,956 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $83,639 Year 2: $92,077 Year 3: $108,272 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $84,682 Year 2: $90,146 Year 3: $101,904 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,602 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $95,939 Systems Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $79,487 Year 2: $82,808 Year 3: $94,931 Public Policy Analysis (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,807 Year 2: $70,596 Year 3: $84,597

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Swarthmore vs University of Virginia-Main Campus (UVA)

Swarthmore College

University of Virginia-Main Campus

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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