Wells College vs Colby College

Wells College and Colby College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Wells, a women's college in Aurora, New York, fosters a close-knit community with a 98% acceptance rate. Colby, a coeducational college in Waterville, Maine, boasts a more selective admissions process with a 14% acceptance rate. While Wells students predominantly pursue majors in the humanities and social sciences, Colby students have a wider range of options, including popular majors in the natural sciences and engineering. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about the differences in student demographics, graduation rates, and other key factors that set these two colleges apart, helping you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Colby College	Wells College
Overview
Location	Waterville, Maine	Aurora, New York
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Rural: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	4-1-4	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	95.0%	46.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.9%	68.3%
Application fees
SAT range	1400 - 1530	N/A
ACT range	32 - 34	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	40.0%
Students submitting ACT score	28.0%
Total number of applicants	15,857	2,167
Total number of admissions given out	1,407	1,480
Admitted students who chose to enroll	667	140
Yield rate	47.4%	9.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$68,825	$49,100
Average net price	$17,912	$19,963
Tuition	$58,640	$30,950
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,150 Meal plan: $7,595	Room/dormitory: $11,800 Meal plan: $3,000
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	39.0% Average amount $58,513	100.0% Average amount $27,321
Students receiving federal student loan	8.0% Average amount $5,140	83.0% Average amount $5,847
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $18,242	19.0% Average amount $13,131

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,262 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	342 Men 39.5% Women 60.5%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	9.5%	1.2%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Rural: Distant
Dormitory capacity	2,242	442
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Psychology Multidisciplinary Studies Mathematics and Statistics Natural Resources and Conservation	Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Education History
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	86.6%	55.0%
Dropout rate	5.7%	45.0%
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	Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,774 Year 2: $17,560 Year 3: $31,573 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: N/A Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: N/A Visual and Performing Arts, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,964 Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,629 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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