Wheaton College (Massachusetts) vs Colby College

Wheaton College and Colby College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Wheaton, nestled in Norton, Massachusetts, boasts a tight-knit community with a focus on personalized attention, reflected in its smaller class sizes and lower student-to-faculty ratio. Colby, located in Waterville, Maine, stands out for its rigorous academics, research opportunities, and stunning natural surroundings. While both colleges share a commitment to academic excellence, they differ in acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover which college aligns best with your aspirations and preferences, considering factors such as location, academic strengths, campus culture, and post-graduate outcomes.

	Colby College	Wheaton College (Massachusetts)
Overview
Location	Waterville, Maine	Norton, Massachusetts
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Suburb: Large
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%	84.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.9%	82.1%
Application fees		$60
SAT range	1400 - 1530	1160 - 1360
ACT range	32 - 34	28 - 32
Students submitting SAT score	40.0%	21.0%
Students submitting ACT score	28.0%	4.0%
Total number of applicants	15,857	3,724
Total number of admissions given out	1,407	3,056
Admitted students who chose to enroll	667	493
Yield rate	47.4%	16.1%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$68,825	$74,850
Average net price	$17,912	$28,867
Tuition	$58,640	$57,700
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,150 Meal plan: $7,595	Room/dormitory: $7,850 Meal plan: $6,820
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 $41,156
Students receiving federal student loan	8.0% Average amount $5,140	58.0% Average amount $5,078
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $18,242	14.0% Average amount $15,391

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,262 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	1,701 Men 38.3% Women 61.7%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	9.5%	5.0%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,242	1,768
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	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Social Sciences Education Computer and Information Science Ethnic Studies
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	86.6%	72.9%
Dropout rate	5.7%	11.8%
Transferred out	7.5%	15.1%
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	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,007 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $55,038 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,034 Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: $52,206 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,967 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $49,555 Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,761 Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: $40,190 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,709 Year 2: $33,459 Year 3: $37,883 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,304 Year 2: $27,048 Year 3: $37,007 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,711 Year 2: $27,126 Year 3: $35,987 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,457 Year 2: $23,693 Year 3: $30,411 Anthropology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: N/A History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,450 Year 2: $36,134 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.

Colby College

Colorado College