Swarthmore vs Vassar College

Swarthmore College and Vassar College, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Swarthmore, located in Pennsylvania, boasts a lower acceptance rate (8.5%) compared to Vassar's (18.6%), indicating its highly selective admissions process. Vassar, situated in New York, enrolls a larger student body, with an undergraduate population of 2,453 compared to Swarthmore's 1,534. While both colleges offer a diverse range of majors, Swarthmore is known for its strengths in engineering and science, while Vassar excels in the humanities and social sciences. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover further differences in graduation rates, student demographics, and other key aspects that can help you make an informed decision about which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Swarthmore College	Vassar College
Overview
Location	Swarthmore, Pennsylvania	Poughkeepsie, New York
Campus setting	Suburb: 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 and Graduate
Students retention rate	95.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	7.8%	20.1%
Application fees	$60	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	1430 - 1560	1420 - 1540
ACT range	33 - 35	32 - 34
Students submitting SAT score	39.0%	31.0%
Students submitting ACT score	21.0%	20.0%
Total number of applicants	13,012	10,884
Total number of admissions given out	1,013	2,193
Admitted students who chose to enroll	454	679
Yield rate	44.8%	31.0%
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	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$75,793	$81,330
Average net price	$19,733	$27,249
Tuition	$55,856	$61,940
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,796 Meal plan: $8,354	$15,710
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	76.0% Average amount $40,072	57.0% Average amount $49,162
Students receiving federal student loan	6.0% Average amount $5,191	46.0% Average amount $3,729
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $30,543	4.0% Average amount $14,435

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,651 Men 49.7% Women 50.3%	2,516 Men 38.4% Women 61.6%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	89.9%	N/A
International students	15.4%	8.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,605	2,448
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	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science Engineering Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	8:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	94.1%	92.5%
Dropout rate	5.7%	5.6%
Transferred out	N/A	2.0%
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	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,930 Year 2: $69,535 Year 3: $93,622 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,665 Year 2: $57,995 Year 3: $66,026 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,871 Year 2: $49,683 Year 3: $59,758 Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,233 Year 2: $39,729 Year 3: $45,366 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,929 Year 2: $31,670 Year 3: $43,616 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $40,086 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,522 Year 2: $35,600 Year 3: $38,666 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,708 Year 3: $38,274 Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,008 Year 2: $28,236 Year 3: $36,733 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,175 Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: $35,465

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Swarthmore vs Vassar College

Swarthmore College

Vassar College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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