Merrimack vs Marist

Merrimack College and Marist College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Merrimack, a private Catholic college in North Andover, Massachusetts, boasts a lower acceptance rate (73%) compared to Marist's 78%. With a larger student body, Marist's campus in Poughkeepsie, New York, hosts a more diverse population. While both colleges excel in liberal arts and business programs, Merrimack emphasizes science and engineering, while Marist is known for its strong communications and media programs. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these colleges' unique offerings, including graduation rates, tuition costs, and available majors, to determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Marist College	Merrimack College
Overview
Location	Poughkeepsie, New York	North Andover, 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	86.0%	84.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	59.9%	80.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1196 - 1360	N/A
ACT range	26 - 29	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	21.0%
Students submitting ACT score	5.0%
Total number of applicants	11,583	10,429
Total number of admissions given out	6,944	8,375
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,272	967
Yield rate	18.3%	11.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$65,235	$64,774
Average net price	$37,868	$35,500
Tuition	$42,650	$43,842
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $10,450 Meal plan: $6,200	Room/dormitory: $9,493 Meal plan: $7,323
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	94.0% Average amount $22,531	99.0% Average amount $25,528
Students receiving federal student loan	56.0% Average amount $5,322	64.0% Average amount $5,356
Students taking out private loans	9.0% Average amount $22,293	16.0% Average amount $22,739

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	5,510 Men 42.6% Women 57.4%	4,120 Men 46.6% Women 53.4%
Graduate students	886 Men 38.4% Women 61.6%	1,332 Men 27.3% Women 72.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	56.2%	N/A
International students	2.5%	1.9%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	3,482	2,713
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York New Jersey Connecticut Mississippi Maryland	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Public Administration and Social Service Computer and Information Science Biological and Biomedical Sciences Psychology	Education Business Health Professions Engineering Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	81.7%	69.0%
Dropout rate	3.9%	0.1%
Transferred out	14.1%	30.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $87,291 Year 2: $88,506 Year 3: $98,268 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,698 Year 2: $79,389 Year 3: $89,521 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,483 Year 2: $73,769 Year 3: $81,980 Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,648 Year 2: $72,509 Year 3: $76,229 Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,669 Year 2: $63,997 Year 3: $73,443 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $69,088 Year 2: $72,369 Year 3: $71,731 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,007 Year 2: $60,623 Year 3: $70,125 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,869 Year 2: $51,464 Year 3: $67,228 Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,004 Year 2: $49,344 Year 3: $62,054 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $57,582 Year 2: $51,829 Year 3: $55,551	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,692 Year 2: $44,327 Year 3: $57,831 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,877 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $48,983 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $45,240 Year 2: $43,160 Year 3: $48,263 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,959 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $47,824 Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,026 Year 2: $28,816 Year 3: $44,114 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $70,044 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: N/A Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,117 Year 2: $62,508 Year 3: N/A Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $38,444 Year 2: $36,312 Year 3: N/A Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,991 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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Merrimack vs Marist

Marist College

Merrimack College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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