Wells College vs Swarthmore

Wells College and Swarthmore College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Wells, a private liberal arts college in Aurora, New York, boasts a 90% acceptance rate, while Swarthmore, a private liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, has a highly selective 11% acceptance rate. Wells students pursue popular majors in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, while Swarthmore students excel in engineering, social sciences, and humanities. Wells' student body is predominantly female (70%), while Swarthmore's is more evenly balanced (52% female, 48% male). Both colleges boast impressive graduation rates, with Wells at 75% and Swarthmore at 94%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions and determine which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Swarthmore College	Wells College
Overview
Location	Swarthmore, Pennsylvania	Aurora, New York
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Rural: Distant
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	95.0%	46.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	7.8%	68.3%
Application fees	$60
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	2,167
Total number of admissions given out	1,013	1,480
Admitted students who chose to enroll	454	140
Yield rate	44.8%	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	$75,793	$49,100
Average net price	$19,733	$19,963
Tuition	$55,856	$30,950
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,796 Meal plan: $8,354	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)	76.0% Average amount $40,072	100.0% Average amount $27,321
Students receiving federal student loan	6.0% Average amount $5,191	83.0% Average amount $5,847
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $30,543	19.0% Average amount $13,131

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,651 Men 49.7% Women 50.3%	342 Men 39.5% Women 60.5%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	89.9%	N/A
International students	15.4%	1.2%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Rural: Distant
Dormitory capacity	1,605	442
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
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	Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences Natural Resources and Conservation Education History
Students to faculty ratio	8:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	94.1%	55.0%
Dropout rate	5.7%	45.0%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
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	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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Wells College vs Swarthmore

Swarthmore College

Wells College

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Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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