Westmont College vs Davidson College

Westmont College and Davidson College, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Westmont, a Christian college in Santa Barbara, California, boasts a tight-knit community and a focus on integrating faith and learning. Davidson, located in Davidson, North Carolina, emphasizes experiential learning and civic engagement. With acceptance rates of 34% and 22%, respectively, both colleges are highly selective. Westmont's student body is predominantly White (68%) and female (59%), while Davidson's is more diverse, with a larger proportion of students of color (34%) and a more balanced gender ratio (51% female). Popular majors at Westmont include Biology, Psychology, and Business Administration, while Davidson students commonly pursue Economics, Biology, and Political Science. Both colleges boast impressive graduation rates, with Westmont at 87% and Davidson at 91%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two exceptional institutions and determine which

	Davidson College	Westmont College
Overview
Location	Davidson, North Carolina	Santa Barbara, California
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Midsize
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%	85.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	17.8%	79.0%
Application fees	$50
SAT range	N/A	1160 - 1460
ACT range	N/A	26 - 31
Students submitting SAT score		18.0%
Students submitting ACT score		12.0%
Total number of applicants	6,434	2,344
Total number of admissions given out	1,145	1,851
Admitted students who chose to enroll	547	333
Yield rate	47.8%	18.0%
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	$73,200	$61,110
Average net price	$25,794	$33,554
Tuition	$54,460	$47,450
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,700 Meal plan: $7,525	Room/dormitory: $9,400 Meal plan: $5,970
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	64.0% Average amount $47,889	99.0% Average amount $32,308
Students receiving federal student loan	10.0% Average amount $5,095	50.0% Average amount $5,052
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $33,219	25.0% Average amount $4,810

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,973 Men 47.2% Women 52.8%	1,238 Men 39.5% Women 60.5%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	76.8%	31.1%
International students	8.2%	1.9%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	1,830	1,207
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	North Carolina Virginia Texas New Jersey Florida	California Washington Oregon Colorado Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Psychology Physical Science Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Ethnic Studies	Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Visual & Performing Arts Social Sciences Physical Science Philosophy and Religious Studies
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	89.6%	73.4%
Dropout rate	10.0%	26.6%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $60,797 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $80,388 Political Science and Government (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $42,752 Year 2: $45,715 Year 3: $53,747 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $43,240 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $41,099 Year 2: $35,330 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,670 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $34,292 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: N/A Anthropology (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: N/A History (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,075 Year 3: N/A	Business/Managerial Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,792 Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $66,978 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,638 Year 2: $40,402 Year 3: $40,054 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,114 Year 2: $24,808 Year 3: $34,035 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,823 Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: N/A Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,883 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,121 Year 2: $22,192 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,369 Year 2: $25,596 Year 3: N/A Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,933 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.

Davidson College

Birmingham-Southern College