Iowa Wesleyan University vs Grinnell College

Iowa Wesleyan University and Grinnell College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning in Iowa, offer distinct educational experiences. Iowa Wesleyan, a private university in Mount Pleasant, boasts a 90% acceptance rate, welcoming a diverse student body of over 800 undergraduates. Grinnell College, a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, is highly selective, with an acceptance rate of 20% and a student body of around 1,700 undergraduates. While Iowa Wesleyan offers popular majors in business, education, and nursing, Grinnell College emphasizes interdisciplinary studies, with popular majors in social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities. Both institutions offer a supportive learning environment, but Grinnell College's higher graduation rate of 84% compared to Iowa Wesleyan's 48% may be a key differentiator for prospective students. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions between these two exceptional institutions and make an informed decision about your academic journey.
Grinnell College logo

Grinnell College

Iowa Wesleyan University logo

Iowa Wesleyan University

Overview

Location Grinnell, Iowa Mount Pleasant, Iowa
Campus setting Town: Remote Town: Remote
College type 4 year 4 year
Control/business model Private (Non Profit) Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system Semester Semester
Degrees offered Undergraduate Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate 93.0% 51.0%
Common app member Yes No
Religious affiliation Methodism

Admission

Acceptance rate 10.5% 81.9%
Application fees
SAT range 1370 - 1530 820 - 1020
ACT range 30 - 34 15 - 20
Students submitting SAT score 29.0% 9.0%
Students submitting ACT score 33.0% 22.0%
Total number of applicants 10,513 3,934
Total number of admissions given out 1,108 3,222
Admitted students who chose to enroll 471 267
Yield rate 42.5% 8.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Not required 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 $76,098 $42,840
Average net price $37,423 $34,988
Tuition $58,156 $32,550
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $6,779

Meal plan: $7,572
Room/dormitory: $4,410

Meal plan: $6,930
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

100.0%
Average amount $35,821
97.0%
Average amount $12,333
Students receiving federal student loan 36.0%
Average amount $3,952
92.0%
Average amount $4,286
Students taking out private loans 12.0%
Average amount $5,903
7.0%
Average amount $6,430

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 1,748
Men 47.5% Women 52.5%
758
Men 57.9% Women 42.1%
Graduate students N/A 67
Men 52.2% Women 47.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Low
Moderate
Out-of-state students 91.5% N/A
International students 19.4% 11.3%
Campus local/setting Town: Remote Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity 1,450 568
First year students are required to live on campus? Yes No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from California Illinois Iowa Minnesota Texas N/A

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Social Sciences
  • Foreign Languages and Literatures
  • Physical Science
  • Visual & Performing Arts
  • Computer and Information Science
  • Business
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Education
  • Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
  • Health Professions
Students to faculty ratio 9:1 12:1
Institutional accreditation Higher Learning Commission Higher Learning Commission

Outcome

Graduation rate 86.9% 22.5%
Dropout rate 12.9% 32.5%
Transferred out N/A 44.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
Economics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $56,661
  • Year 2: $52,941
  • Year 3: $55,487
Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $31,893
  • Year 2: $34,704
  • Year 3: $49,481
English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $20,499
  • Year 2: $29,141
  • Year 3: $41,882
Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $27,517
  • Year 2: $33,993
  • Year 3: $40,572
Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $26,353
  • Year 3: $37,882
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $21,508
  • Year 3: $37,613
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $23,718
  • Year 2: $19,227
  • Year 3: $29,237
Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $20,140
  • Year 3: $28,680
Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $70,658
  • Year 2: $91,744
  • Year 3: N/A
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $29,239
  • Year 2: N/A
  • Year 3: N/A
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $35,594
  • Year 3: N/A
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $59,581
  • Year 2: $49,840
  • Year 3: N/A
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $37,362
  • 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.
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs University of California-Berkeley University of California-Berkeley
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Claremont McKenna College Claremont McKenna College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Harvey Mudd College Harvey Mudd College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Pitzer College Pitzer College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Pomona College Pomona College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Wesleyan University Wesleyan University
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Knox College Knox College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs DePauw University DePauw University
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Buena Vista University Buena Vista University
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Graceland University-Lamoni Graceland University-Lamoni
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Northwestern College Northwestern College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Berea College Berea College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Colby College Colby College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Harvard University Harvard University
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Hillsdale College Hillsdale College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Millsaps College Millsaps College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Dartmouth College Dartmouth College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Bard College Bard College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Cornell University Cornell University
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Hamilton College Hamilton College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Union College Union College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Franklin and Marshall College Franklin and Marshall College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Lafayette College Lafayette College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Brown University Brown University
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Wofford College Wofford College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Rhodes College Rhodes College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Trinity University Trinity University
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Middlebury College Middlebury College
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs University of Virginia-Main Campus University of Virginia-Main Campus
Grinnell College Grinnell College vs Stanford University Stanford University
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Thomas University Thomas University
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Augustana College Augustana College
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Blackburn College Blackburn College
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Eureka College Eureka College
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Greenville University Greenville University
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Illinois College Illinois College
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Knox College Knox College
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Lewis University Lewis University
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Millikin University Millikin University
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Monmouth College Monmouth College
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs North Central College North Central College
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Olivet Nazarene University Olivet Nazarene University
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Briar Cliff University Briar Cliff University
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Buena Vista University Buena Vista University
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Central College Central College
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Clarke University Clarke University
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Coe College Coe College
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Cornell College Cornell College
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Drake University Drake University
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Graceland University-Lamoni Graceland University-Lamoni
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Grinnell College Grinnell College
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Iowa State University Iowa State University
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs University of Iowa University of Iowa
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs University of Northern Iowa University of Northern Iowa
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Northwestern College Northwestern College
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Wartburg College Wartburg College
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs William Penn University William Penn University
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Finlandia University Finlandia University
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Bethany Lutheran College Bethany Lutheran College
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Martin Luther College Martin Luther College
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Rocky Mountain College Rocky Mountain College
Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University vs Hiram College Hiram College