Wartburg College vs Colby College

Wartburg College and Colby College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Wartburg, a private liberal arts college in Waverly, Iowa, boasts a tight-knit community with a focus on personalized attention and a strong Lutheran heritage. Colby, a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine, is known for its rigorous academics, stunning campus, and commitment to experiential learning. While both colleges share a dedication to academic excellence, they differ in acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the comparison table below to discover which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Colby College	Wartburg College
Overview
Location	Waterville, Maine	Waverly, Iowa
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	4-1-4	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	95.0%	74.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Evangelical

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.9%	82.8%
Application fees
SAT range	1400 - 1530	973 - 1198
ACT range	32 - 34	20 - 26
Students submitting SAT score	40.0%	8.0%
Students submitting ACT score	28.0%	49.0%
Total number of applicants	15,857	4,024
Total number of admissions given out	1,407	3,330
Admitted students who chose to enroll	667	413
Yield rate	47.4%	12.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$68,825	$59,890
Average net price	$17,912	$23,022
Tuition	$58,640	$45,200
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,150 Meal plan: $7,595	Room/dormitory: $5,730 Meal plan: $4,260
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	39.0% Average amount $58,513	95.0% Average amount $34,498
Students receiving federal student loan	8.0% Average amount $5,140	72.0% Average amount $5,442
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $18,242	13.0% Average amount $14,049

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,262 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	1,516 Men 47.9% Women 52.1%
Graduate students	N/A	25 Men 28.0% Women 72.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	27.7%
International students	9.5%	6.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	2,242	1,409
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Iowa Illinois Minnesota Wisconsin Colorado

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Psychology Multidisciplinary Studies Mathematics and Statistics Natural Resources and Conservation	Education Communication and Journalism Business Public Administration and Social Service Engineering
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	14:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	86.6%	69.9%
Dropout rate	5.7%	29.8%
Transferred out	7.5%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,540 Year 2: $57,995 Year 3: $83,980 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,972 Year 2: $47,118 Year 3: $55,529 International/Global Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,350 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $53,638 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $42,883 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,156 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $40,423 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,612 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $41,193 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: N/A Anthropology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,971 Year 3: N/A	Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,999 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $63,021 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,367 Year 2: $47,595 Year 3: $53,215 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,779 Year 2: $38,829 Year 3: $44,236 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,368 Year 2: $41,193 Year 3: $42,652 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,087 Year 2: $35,546 Year 3: $39,411 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,075 Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: $37,759 Social Work (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,121 Year 3: $33,732 Engineering Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,225 Year 2: $58,221 Year 3: N/A Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,030 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A

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