Swarthmore vs Williams College

Swarthmore College and Williams 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 Williams' (10.5%) in Massachusetts. Swarthmore's student body is more diverse, with international students comprising 13% of the population, while Williams' international student population stands at 10%. In terms of popular majors, Swarthmore students often pursue social sciences, while Williams students lean towards humanities. Both colleges boast impressive graduation rates, with Swarthmore's at 94% and Williams' at 96%. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table below, highlighting key differences between these two prestigious institutions.

	Swarthmore College	Williams College
Overview
Location	Swarthmore, Pennsylvania	Williamstown, Massachusetts
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Fringe
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	4-1-4
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%	8.8%
Application fees	$60	$65
SAT range	1430 - 1560	N/A
ACT range	33 - 35	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	39.0%
Students submitting ACT score	21.0%
Total number of applicants	13,012	12,452
Total number of admissions given out	1,013	1,099
Admitted students who chose to enroll	454	574
Yield rate	44.8%	52.2%
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	$78,060
Average net price	$19,733	$14,487
Tuition	$55,856	$59,350
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,796 Meal plan: $8,354	Room/dormitory: $7,625 Meal plan: $7,375
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	76.0% Average amount $40,072	52.0% Average amount $52,053
Students receiving federal student loan	6.0% Average amount $5,191	13.0% Average amount $3,992
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $30,543	2.0% Average amount $3,884

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,651 Men 49.7% Women 50.3%	2,174 Men 48.1% Women 51.9%
Graduate students	N/A	50 Men 44.0% Women 56.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	89.9%	N/A
International students	15.4%	9.8%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	1,605	2,045
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	Yes
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	Mathematics and Statistics Visual & Performing Arts Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Ethnic Studies
Students to faculty ratio	8:1	6:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	94.1%	93.8%
Dropout rate	5.7%	3.1%
Transferred out	N/A	1.6%
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	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $109,470 Year 2: $96,183 Year 3: $99,047 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $83,280 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $91,723 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,217 Year 2: $53,358 Year 3: $63,034 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,948 Year 2: $44,384 Year 3: $48,967 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,036 Year 2: $49,464 Year 3: $44,771 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,993 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $43,402 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,135 Year 2: $40,461 Year 3: $41,065 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,760 Year 2: $34,704 Year 3: $37,587 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,029 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $26,432 Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,668 Year 2: $25,525 Year 3: $14,771

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Swarthmore vs Williams College

Swarthmore College

Williams College

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Outcome

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