Ursinus College vs Lafayette College

Ursinus College and Lafayette College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Ursinus, a liberal arts college, boasts a tight-knit community with a focus on personalized attention, while Lafayette, a private research university, emphasizes hands-on learning and research opportunities. With Ursinus' acceptance rate hovering around 70% and Lafayette's at 40%, the former offers a more accessible admissions process. While both colleges share popular majors like Business and Psychology, Ursinus excels in the Social Sciences, while Lafayette shines in Engineering and the Natural Sciences. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about the student body demographics, graduation rates, and other key differences that set these two colleges apart, helping you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Lafayette College	Ursinus College
Overview
Location	Easton, 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	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	91.0%	85.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	40.7%	82.7%
Application fees	$65
SAT range	1300 - 1460	1200 - 1360
ACT range	30 - 33	27 - 32
Students submitting SAT score	28.0%	34.0%
Students submitting ACT score	13.0%	9.0%
Total number of applicants	8,262	3,818
Total number of admissions given out	3,366	3,158
Admitted students who chose to enroll	782	433
Yield rate	23.2%	13.7%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	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	$75,934	$73,982
Average net price	$38,754	$31,438
Tuition	$55,874	$56,600
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $10,308 Meal plan: $6,362	Room/dormitory: $9,230 Meal plan: $4,830
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	61.0% Average amount $34,668	100.0% Average amount $39,622
Students receiving federal student loan	26.0% Average amount $4,491	69.0% Average amount $5,630
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $23,831	16.0% Average amount $18,143

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,725 Men 51.2% Women 48.8%	1,556 Men 52.2% Women 47.8%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	82.6%	42.4%
International students	7.8%	0.9%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,510	1,510
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Mississippi Connecticut	Pennsylvania New Jersey Maryland New York Connecticut

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Social Sciences Physical Science Visual & Performing Arts	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	87.9%	72.5%
Dropout rate	2.5%	27.3%
Transferred out	9.6%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,532 Year 2: $68,379 Year 3: $80,306 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,033 Year 2: $65,238 Year 3: $78,021 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $77,247 Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: $76,714 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,784 Year 2: $65,486 Year 3: $76,536 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,714 Year 2: $72,403 Year 3: $75,320 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,927 Year 2: $58,943 Year 3: $72,455 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,229 Year 2: $48,198 Year 3: $60,266 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,408 Year 2: $44,468 Year 3: $57,092 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,680 Year 2: $32,391 Year 3: $50,156 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,170 Year 3: $48,201	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

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