Bryn Mawr College vs Carleton College

Bryn Mawr College and Carleton College, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Bryn Mawr, a women's college in Pennsylvania, boasts a 25% acceptance rate and a student body of over 1,300 undergraduates. Carleton, a coeducational college in Minnesota, has a slightly lower acceptance rate of 22% and a larger undergraduate population of around 2,100. While both colleges offer a wide range of academic programs, Bryn Mawr is known for its strengths in the humanities and social sciences, while Carleton excels in the natural sciences and engineering. Additionally, Bryn Mawr has a higher graduation rate of 88% compared to Carleton's 86%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences between these two exceptional institutions and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Bryn Mawr College	Carleton College
Overview
Location	Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania	Northfield, Minnesota
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Trimester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	89.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	39.3%	17.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	1408 - 1550
ACT range	N/A	31 - 35
Students submitting SAT score		35.0%
Students submitting ACT score		34.0%
Total number of applicants	3,391	7,915
Total number of admissions given out	1,334	1,389
Admitted students who chose to enroll	422	555
Yield rate	31.6%	40.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not 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	$75,690	$78,315
Average net price	$34,482	$31,718
Tuition	$55,025	$59,850
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,910 Meal plan: $7,460	Room/dormitory: $8,115 Meal plan: $7,260
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	69.0% Average amount $39,058	65.0% Average amount $45,715
Students receiving federal student loan	67.0% Average amount $5,334	45.0% Average amount $3,914
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $17,905	2.0% Average amount $14,334

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,423 Men 0.0% Women 100.0%	2,044 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%
Graduate students	355 Men 22.0% Women 78.0%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	81.5%
International students	13.1%	10.2%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	1,277	1,854
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Minnesota California Illinois New York Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Public Administration and Social Service Health Professions Social Sciences English Language and Literature Foreign Languages and Literatures	Physical Science Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Mathematics and Statistics Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	87.0%	91.4%
Dropout rate	5.7%	8.3%
Transferred out	6.2%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $45,043 Year 2: $48,579 Year 3: $49,145 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $24,035 Year 3: $44,579 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $41,196 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,644 Year 2: $19,162 Year 3: $38,634 Anthropology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,667 Year 3: N/A	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,876 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $101,936 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,032 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $66,207 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,526 Year 2: $23,034 Year 3: $30,071 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,669 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,425 Year 2: $22,329 Year 3: N/A Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,952 Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: N/A Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,227 Year 2: $36,141 Year 3: N/A Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,625 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Physics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $42,774 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,301 Year 2: $33,719 Year 3: N/A

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