Lake Forest College vs Mount Holyoke College

Lake Forest College and Mount Holyoke College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Lake Forest, a coeducational liberal arts college, boasts a 68% acceptance rate, while Mount Holyoke, a women's liberal arts college, has a more selective admissions process with a 33% acceptance rate. Both colleges excel in academics, with Lake Forest's popular majors including Business Administration, Psychology, and Biology, and Mount Holyoke's strengths lying in Social Sciences, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, and English Language and Literature. While Lake Forest's student body is 53% female and 47% male, Mount Holyoke's student body is exclusively female. With graduation rates of 75% and 84% respectively, both colleges ensure that their students are well-prepared for their future endeavors. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these colleges and make an informed decision that aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.
Lake Forest College logo

Lake Forest College

Mount Holyoke College logo

Mount Holyoke College

Overview

Location Lake Forest, Illinois South Hadley, Massachusetts
Campus setting Suburb: Large 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 87.0% 91.0%
Common app member Yes Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission

Acceptance rate 64.4% 52.3%
Application fees $50
Undergraduate: $60

Graduate: $50
SAT range 1130 - 1345 1300 - 1510
ACT range 26 - 31 31 - 35
Students submitting SAT score 26.0% 24.0%
Students submitting ACT score 15.0% 11.0%
Total number of applicants 4,358 3,971
Total number of admissions given out 2,808 2,077
Admitted students who chose to enroll 417 608
Yield rate 14.9% 29.3%
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 $66,400 $73,438
Average net price $25,126 $29,218
Tuition $50,100 $56,300
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $5,540

Meal plan: $5,958
Room/dormitory: $8,320

Meal plan: $8,260
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

100.0%
Average amount $38,182
100.0%
Average amount $30,351
Students receiving federal student loan 43.0%
Average amount $5,895
42.0%
Average amount $4,906
Students taking out private loans 4.0%
Average amount $15,800
7.0%
Average amount $4,982

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 1,661
Men 41.7% Women 58.3%
2,220
Men 0.1% Women 99.9%
Graduate students 29
Men 34.5% Women 65.5%
122
Men 13.1% Women 86.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Low
Low
Out-of-state students 45.4% N/A
International students 15.7% 23.1%
Campus local/setting Suburb: Large Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity 1,236 2,171
First year students are required to live on campus? No No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from Illinois Arizona California Colorado Minnesota Mississippi New York California Connecticut Florida

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Social Sciences
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Education
  • Foreign Languages and Literatures
  • Psychology
  • Social Sciences
  • Education
  • Foreign Languages and Literatures
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio 12:1 10:1
Institutional accreditation Higher Learning Commission New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome

Graduation rate 73.0% 85.0%
Dropout rate 4.8% 2.9%
Transferred out 22.2% 11.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
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
International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $39,377
  • Year 2: $45,696
  • Year 3: $46,206
Education, Other (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $46,986
  • Year 2: $42,682
  • Year 3: $46,152
Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $42,150
  • Year 2: $35,060
  • Year 3: $44,038
Anthropology (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $32,925
  • Year 3: $37,403
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $30,356
  • Year 2: $36,852
  • Year 3: $35,497
Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $26,353
  • Year 3: $34,113
Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $31,168
  • Year 2: $30,409
  • Year 3: $33,868
English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $28,960
  • Year 3: $30,295
History (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $24,035
  • Year 3: $30,137
Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $28,160
  • Year 2: $28,598
  • Year 3: $29,034

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.
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
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Mills College Mills College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Scripps College Scripps College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Connecticut College Connecticut College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Trinity College Trinity College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Spelman College Spelman College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Principia College Principia College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Bates College Bates College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Bowdoin College Bowdoin College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Colby College Colby College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Hampshire College Hampshire College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs College of the Holy Cross College of the Holy Cross
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Simmons University Simmons University
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Bard College at Simon's Rock Bard College at Simon's Rock
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Wheaton College (Massachusetts) Wheaton College (Massachusetts)
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Hillsdale College Hillsdale College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Macalester College Macalester College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Bard College Bard College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Colgate University Colgate University
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Hamilton College Hamilton College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Hobart William Smith Colleges Hobart William Smith Colleges
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Union College Union College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Bucknell University Bucknell University
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Franklin and Marshall College Franklin and Marshall College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Haverford College Haverford College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Lafayette College Lafayette College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Muhlenberg College Muhlenberg College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Ursinus College Ursinus College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Rhodes College Rhodes College
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College vs Hollins University Hollins University