Lake Forest College vs Cornell College

Nestled in the heart of the Midwest, Lake Forest College and Cornell College stand out as two exceptional liberal arts institutions, each offering a unique educational experience. While both colleges share a commitment to academic excellence and personalized learning, they differ in several key aspects. Lake Forest College, located in the affluent suburb of Chicago, boasts a higher acceptance rate and a more diverse student body, while Cornell College, situated in the charming town of Mount Vernon, Iowa, has a slightly higher graduation rate and a stronger focus on sustainability. To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into the acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates of these two esteemed institutions. Explore the table to discover which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.
Cornell College logo

Cornell College

Lake Forest College logo

Lake Forest College

Overview

Location Mount Vernon, Iowa Lake Forest, Illinois
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 and Graduate
Students retention rate 78.0% 87.0%
Common app member Yes Yes
Religious affiliation Methodism

Admission

Acceptance rate 81.1% 64.4%
Application fees $30 $50
SAT range 1155 - 1405 1130 - 1345
ACT range 24 - 30 26 - 31
Students submitting SAT score 28.0% 26.0%
Students submitting ACT score 58.0% 15.0%
Total number of applicants 2,836 4,358
Total number of admissions given out 2,300 2,808
Admitted students who chose to enroll 366 417
Yield rate 15.9% 14.9%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Required Required
Recommendation letters Not required Required
High school transcript Not required Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL) Not required Required

Tuition and Fees

Sticker price $62,735 $66,400
Average net price $22,667 $25,126
Tuition $47,100 $50,100
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $4,868

Meal plan: $5,688
Room/dormitory: $5,540

Meal plan: $5,958
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

100.0%
Average amount $37,745
100.0%
Average amount $38,182
Students receiving federal student loan 57.0%
Average amount $5,607
43.0%
Average amount $5,895
Students taking out private loans 16.0%
Average amount $9,357
4.0%
Average amount $15,800

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 1,046
Men 52.5% Women 47.5%
1,661
Men 41.7% Women 58.3%
Graduate students 9
Men 33.3% Women 66.7%
29
Men 34.5% Women 65.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Low
Low
Out-of-state students N/A 45.4%
International students 3.0% 15.7%
Campus local/setting Town: Fringe Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity 1,060 1,236
First year students are required to live on campus? No No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from N/A Illinois Arizona California Colorado Minnesota

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Business
  • Visual & Performing Arts
  • Foreign Languages and Literatures
  • Social Sciences
  • Philosophy and Religious Studies
  • Social Sciences
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Education
  • Foreign Languages and Literatures
  • Psychology
Students to faculty ratio 12:1 12:1
Institutional accreditation Higher Learning Commission Higher Learning Commission

Outcome

Graduation rate 63.8% 73.0%
Dropout rate 10.9% 4.8%
Transferred out 25.4% 22.2%
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
Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $51,498
  • Year 2: $44,468
  • Year 3: $58,948
Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $45,662
  • Year 2: $41,007
  • Year 3: $50,604
Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $39,515
  • Year 2: $40,647
  • Year 3: $46,215
Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $44,630
  • Year 2: $30,409
  • Year 3: $42,995
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $39,945
  • Year 2: $29,685
  • Year 3: $37,497
English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $33,373
  • Year 2: $23,807
  • Year 3: $32,580
Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $26,153
  • Year 2: N/A
  • Year 3: N/A
Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $29,832
  • Year 3: N/A
Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $35,544
  • Year 2: N/A
  • Year 3: N/A
Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $47,197
  • 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.
Cornell College Cornell College vs Hendrix College Hendrix College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Wesleyan University Wesleyan University
Cornell College Cornell College vs Eckerd College Eckerd College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Oglethorpe University Oglethorpe University
Cornell College Cornell College vs The College of Idaho The College of Idaho
Cornell College Cornell College vs Knox College Knox College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Principia College Principia College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Franklin College Franklin College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Buena Vista University Buena Vista University
Cornell College Cornell College vs Clarke University Clarke University
Cornell College Cornell College vs Coe College Coe College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Grinnell College Grinnell College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Northwestern College Northwestern College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Berea College Berea College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Transylvania University Transylvania University
Cornell College Cornell College vs Bowdoin College Bowdoin College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Colby College Colby College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Williams College Williams College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Carleton College Carleton College
Cornell College Cornell College vs College of Saint Benedict College of Saint Benedict
Cornell College Cornell College vs Saint Johns University Saint Johns University
Cornell College Cornell College vs Millsaps College Millsaps College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Westminster College Westminster College
Cornell College Cornell College vs William Jewell College William Jewell College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Bard College Bard College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Colgate University Colgate University
Cornell College Cornell College vs Hamilton College Hamilton College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Skidmore College Skidmore College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Union College Union College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Vassar College Vassar College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Wells College Wells College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Kenyon College Kenyon College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Bucknell University Bucknell University
Cornell College Cornell College vs Dickinson College Dickinson College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Franklin and Marshall College Franklin and Marshall College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Haverford College Haverford College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Lafayette College Lafayette College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Lycoming College Lycoming College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Moravian University Moravian University
Cornell College Cornell College vs Muhlenberg College Muhlenberg College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Swarthmore College Swarthmore College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Ursinus College Ursinus College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Westminster College Westminster College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Augustana University Augustana University
Cornell College Cornell College vs Schreiner University Schreiner University
Cornell College Cornell College vs Bennington College Bennington College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Middlebury College Middlebury College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Roanoke College Roanoke College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Sweet Briar College Sweet Briar College
Cornell College Cornell College vs Ripon College Ripon College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Pomona College Pomona College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Whittier College Whittier College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Georgetown University Georgetown University
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Blackburn College Blackburn College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Knox College Knox College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Principia College Principia College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs University of Notre Dame University of Notre Dame
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Coe College Coe College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Cornell College Cornell College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Grinnell College Grinnell College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Luther College Luther College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Bowdoin College Bowdoin College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Colby College Colby College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Washington College Washington College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Harvard University Harvard University
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Bard College at Simon's Rock Bard College at Simon's Rock
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Smith College Smith College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Williams College Williams College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Carleton College Carleton College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Millsaps College Millsaps College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Dartmouth College Dartmouth College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Drew University Drew University
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Cornell University Cornell University
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Hamilton College Hamilton College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Siena College Siena College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Vassar College Vassar College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Heidelberg University Heidelberg University
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Linfield University-McMinnville Campus Linfield University-McMinnville Campus
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Moravian University Moravian University
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Susquehanna University Susquehanna University
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Swarthmore College Swarthmore College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Ursinus College Ursinus College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Westminster College Westminster College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Brown University Brown University
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Middlebury College Middlebury College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Randolph-Macon College Randolph-Macon College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Roanoke College Roanoke College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Sweet Briar College Sweet Briar College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Carthage College Carthage College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Saint Norbert College Saint Norbert College
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College vs Stanford University Stanford University