Ursinus College vs Arcadia University

Ursinus College and Arcadia University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning in Pennsylvania, offer distinct educational experiences. Ursinus, a private liberal arts college, boasts a lower acceptance rate (49%) compared to Arcadia's (70%). Ursinus students predominantly pursue majors in the social sciences, biological sciences, and business, while Arcadia's popular majors include business, health professions, and visual and performing arts. Ursinus' student body is slightly smaller and more diverse, with a higher percentage of international students. Arcadia's larger student body comprises a higher proportion of female students. Ursinus graduates enjoy a slightly higher graduation rate (83%) than Arcadia's (79%). Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which institution aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Arcadia University	Ursinus College
Overview
Location	Glenside, Pennsylvania	Collegeville, Pennsylvania
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 and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	77.0%	85.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	82.4%	82.7%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1080 - 1280	1200 - 1360
ACT range	22 - 27	27 - 32
Students submitting SAT score	30.0%	34.0%
Students submitting ACT score	5.0%	9.0%
Total number of applicants	5,636	3,818
Total number of admissions given out	4,645	3,158
Admitted students who chose to enroll	390	433
Yield rate	8.4%	13.7%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$70,220	$73,982
Average net price	$26,949	$31,438
Tuition	$45,520	$56,600
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,000 Meal plan: $5,170	Room/dormitory: $9,230 Meal plan: $4,830
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $27,414	100.0% Average amount $39,622
Students receiving federal student loan	71.0% Average amount $5,318	69.0% Average amount $5,630
Students taking out private loans	17.0% Average amount $15,721	16.0% Average amount $18,143

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,832 Men 33.9% Women 66.1%	1,556 Men 52.2% Women 47.8%
Graduate students	1,232 Men 23.7% Women 76.3%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	40.5%	42.4%
International students	2.2%	0.9%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,036	1,510
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Pennsylvania New Jersey New York Virginia Connecticut	Pennsylvania New Jersey Maryland New York Connecticut

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Psychology Biological and Biomedical Sciences Business	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Visual & Performing Arts English Language and Literature Physical Science Foreign Languages and Literatures
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	61.8%	72.5%
Dropout rate	6.4%	27.3%
Transferred out	31.5%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Public Health (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $77,715 Year 3: $109,812 Genetics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $73,321 Year 3: $82,507 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $71,130 Year 2: $72,163 Year 3: $75,972 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,965 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $61,795 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $56,977 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $56,813 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,129 Year 2: $50,677 Year 3: $53,310 International Business (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,105 Year 2: $43,000 Year 3: $50,335 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,830 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $47,025 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,274 Year 2: $28,443 Year 3: $44,234	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,186 Year 2: $47,650 Year 3: $61,215 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,137 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $48,478 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,123 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $40,114 Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,195 Year 2: $31,133 Year 3: $38,857 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,243 Year 2: $26,933 Year 3: $37,740 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,345 Year 2: $27,439 Year 3: N/A Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $67,995 Year 3: N/A Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $18,847 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,394 Year 2: $36,668 Year 3: N/A Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,582 Year 2: $33,281 Year 3: N/A

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Arcadia University

Samford University