Cornell College vs Swarthmore

Cornell College and Swarthmore College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Cornell, nestled in the charming town of Mount Vernon, Iowa, boasts a tight-knit community with a focus on personalized attention. Swarthmore, located in the vibrant Philadelphia suburbs, is renowned for its academic rigor and research opportunities. With acceptance rates of 72% and 11%, respectively, these colleges attract students with diverse backgrounds and aspirations. While Cornell's popular majors include Biology, Business Administration, and Psychology, Swarthmore excels in Engineering, Economics, and Political Science. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about the student body demographics, graduation rates, and other key differences that set these colleges apart.

	Cornell College	Swarthmore College
Overview
Location	Mount Vernon, Iowa	Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Large
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	78.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	81.1%	7.8%
Application fees	$30	$60
SAT range	1155 - 1405	1430 - 1560
ACT range	24 - 30	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	28.0%	39.0%
Students submitting ACT score	58.0%	21.0%
Total number of applicants	2,836	13,012
Total number of admissions given out	2,300	1,013
Admitted students who chose to enroll	366	454
Yield rate	15.9%	44.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$62,735	$75,793
Average net price	$22,667	$19,733
Tuition	$47,100	$55,856
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,868 Meal plan: $5,688	Room/dormitory: $8,796 Meal plan: $8,354
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $37,745	76.0% Average amount $40,072
Students receiving federal student loan	57.0% Average amount $5,607	6.0% Average amount $5,191
Students taking out private loans	16.0% Average amount $9,357	1.0% Average amount $30,543

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,046 Men 52.5% Women 47.5%	1,651 Men 49.7% Women 50.3%
Graduate students	9 Men 33.3% Women 66.7%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	89.9%
International students	3.0%	15.4%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,060	1,605
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	New York California Pennsylvania New Jersey Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Visual & Performing Arts Foreign Languages and Literatures Social Sciences Philosophy and Religious Studies	Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science Engineering Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	63.8%	94.1%
Dropout rate	10.9%	5.7%
Transferred out	25.4%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,721 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $40,862 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,040 Year 2: $24,035 Year 3: $38,658 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $21,951 Year 2: $23,340 Year 3: N/A Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,103 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,478 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,731 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	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

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Cornell College vs Swarthmore

Cornell College

Swarthmore College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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