Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) vs Colby College

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and Colby College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. MCLA, a public liberal arts college, boasts an acceptance rate of 88%, making it more accessible to a wider range of students. Colby, a private liberal arts college, has a more selective admissions process, with an acceptance rate of 14%. MCLA's student body is predominantly composed of Massachusetts residents, while Colby attracts a more diverse student population from across the country and the world. In terms of academic offerings, MCLA focuses on undergraduate education, while Colby offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about the differences in popular majors, graduation rates, and other key aspects that set these two colleges apart.

	Colby College	Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Overview
Location	Waterville, Maine	North Adams, Massachusetts
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Town: Fringe
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	4-1-4	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	95.0%	63.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.9%	91.0%
Application fees		$50
SAT range	1400 - 1530	N/A
ACT range	32 - 34	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	40.0%
Students submitting ACT score	28.0%
Total number of applicants	15,857	1,371
Total number of admissions given out	1,407	1,247
Admitted students who chose to enroll	667	167
Yield rate	47.4%	13.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$68,825	In state: $25,928 Out of state: $34,873
Average net price	$17,912	$14,902
Tuition	$58,640	In state: $1,030 Out of state: $9,975
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,150 Meal plan: $7,595	Room/dormitory: $7,240 Meal plan: $5,044
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	39.0% Average amount $58,513	99.0% Average amount $8,496
Students receiving federal student loan	8.0% Average amount $5,140	97.0% Average amount $3,734
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $18,242	12.0% Average amount $9,492

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,262 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	870 Men 39.2% Women 60.8%
Graduate students	N/A	124 Men 33.1% Women 66.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	9.5%	N/A
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	2,242	1,020
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Mississippi New York Vermont Connecticut Rhode Island

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Psychology Multidisciplinary Studies Mathematics and Statistics Natural Resources and Conservation	Business Education Computer and Information Science Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	86.6%	58.4%
Dropout rate	5.7%	41.6%
Transferred out	7.5%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,540 Year 2: $57,995 Year 3: $83,980 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,972 Year 2: $47,118 Year 3: $55,529 International/Global Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,350 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $53,638 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $42,883 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,156 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $40,423 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,612 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $41,193 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: N/A Anthropology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,971 Year 3: N/A	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,895 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $73,830 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,172 Year 2: $34,467 Year 3: $40,733 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,359 Year 2: $27,181 Year 3: $40,148 Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,284 Year 3: $35,408 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,617 Year 2: $32,569 Year 3: $34,741 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,798 Year 2: $31,828 Year 3: $32,817 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,438 Year 2: $28,236 Year 3: $32,425 Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,231 Year 2: $29,374 Year 3: $31,158 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,032 Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: N/A Visual and Performing Arts, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,169 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A

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