Wells College vs Vassar College

Wells College and Vassar College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions in New York State, offer distinct educational experiences. Wells, a small, private college in Aurora, boasts a tight-knit community and a focus on personalized learning, with an acceptance rate of 75% and a student body of around 500 undergraduates. Vassar, a larger, private college in Poughkeepsie, is known for its academic rigor and vibrant campus life, with an acceptance rate of 28% and a student body of over 2,400 undergraduates. While both colleges offer a wide range of majors, Wells is particularly strong in the humanities and social sciences, while Vassar excels in the sciences and engineering. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two exceptional colleges and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Vassar College	Wells College
Overview
Location	Poughkeepsie, New York	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 and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	95.0%	46.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	20.1%	68.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	1420 - 1540	N/A
ACT range	32 - 34	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	31.0%
Students submitting ACT score	20.0%
Total number of applicants	10,884	2,167
Total number of admissions given out	2,193	1,480
Admitted students who chose to enroll	679	140
Yield rate	31.0%	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)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$81,330	$49,100
Average net price	$27,249	$19,963
Tuition	$61,940	$30,950
Room & board	$15,710	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)	57.0% Average amount $49,162	100.0% Average amount $27,321
Students receiving federal student loan	46.0% Average amount $3,729	83.0% Average amount $5,847
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $14,435	19.0% Average amount $13,131

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,516 Men 38.4% Women 61.6%	342 Men 39.5% Women 60.5%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	8.4%	1.2%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Rural: Distant
Dormitory capacity	2,448	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	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Social Sciences Ethnic Studies 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	92.5%	55.0%
Dropout rate	5.6%	45.0%
Transferred out	2.0%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,930 Year 2: $69,535 Year 3: $93,622 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,665 Year 2: $57,995 Year 3: $66,026 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,871 Year 2: $49,683 Year 3: $59,758 Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,233 Year 2: $39,729 Year 3: $45,366 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,929 Year 2: $31,670 Year 3: $43,616 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $40,086 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,522 Year 2: $35,600 Year 3: $38,666 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,708 Year 3: $38,274 Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,008 Year 2: $28,236 Year 3: $36,733 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,175 Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: $35,465	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

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.

Wells College vs Vassar College

Vassar College

Wells College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

Compare Similar Colleges

Find Colleges By State

Resources

About