North Central vs Swarthmore

North Central College and Swarthmore College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. North Central, a private liberal arts college in Naperville, Illinois, boasts a 75% acceptance rate, while Swarthmore, a private liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, has a highly selective 11% acceptance rate. North Central's student body is predominantly White (73%) and female (60%), while Swarthmore's student body is more diverse, with a larger percentage of international students (13%) and a more even gender distribution (51% female, 49% male). Both colleges offer a wide range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors at North Central including Business Administration, Nursing, and Elementary Education, and popular majors at Swarthmore including Engineering, Economics, and Political Science. With graduation rates of 68% and 93% respectively, both colleges provide students with the opportunity to succeed and
North Central College logo

North Central College

Swarthmore College logo

Swarthmore College

Overview

Location Naperville, Illinois Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Campus setting City: Midsize 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
Students retention rate 77.0% 95.0%
Common app member Yes Yes
Religious affiliation Methodism

Admission

Acceptance rate 68.4% 7.8%
Application fees $25 $60
SAT range 1030 - 1230 1430 - 1560
ACT range 22 - 28 33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score 43.0% 39.0%
Students submitting ACT score 17.0% 21.0%
Total number of applicants 4,551 13,012
Total number of admissions given out 3,113 1,013
Admitted students who chose to enroll 512 454
Yield rate 16.4% 44.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Required Not required
Recommendation letters Not required Required
High school transcript Not required Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL) Required Not required

Tuition and Fees

Sticker price $61,098 $75,793
Average net price $26,207 $19,733
Tuition $42,026 $55,856
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $7,998

Meal plan: $3,890
Room/dormitory: $8,796

Meal plan: $8,354
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

100.0%
Average amount $28,670
76.0%
Average amount $40,072
Students receiving federal student loan 60.0%
Average amount $5,156
6.0%
Average amount $5,191
Students taking out private loans 25.0%
Average amount $6,992
1.0%
Average amount $30,543

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 2,404
Men 48.4% Women 51.6%
1,651
Men 49.7% Women 50.3%
Graduate students 324
Men 29.3% Women 70.7%
N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity
Low
Moderate
Out-of-state students 26.8% 89.9%
International students 3.7% 15.4%
Campus local/setting City: Midsize Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity 1,333 1,605
First year students are required to live on campus? No Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from Illinois Wisconsin Indiana Ohio Michigan New York California Pennsylvania New Jersey Texas

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Business
  • Education
  • Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
  • Health Professions
  • Visual & Performing Arts
  • Visual & Performing Arts
  • Computer and Information Science
  • Engineering
  • Social Sciences
  • Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio 13:1 8:1
Institutional accreditation Higher Learning Commission Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome

Graduation rate 64.4% 94.1%
Dropout rate 35.1% 5.7%
Transferred out N/A N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $52,561
  • Year 2: $63,501
  • Year 3: $74,669
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $63,155
  • Year 2: $62,260
  • Year 3: $71,061
Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $43,815
  • Year 2: $58,921
  • Year 3: $66,245
Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $54,117
  • Year 2: $46,478
  • Year 3: $64,795
Human Resources Management and Services (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $39,621
  • Year 2: $45,305
  • Year 3: $51,292
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $44,923
  • Year 2: $43,240
  • Year 3: $50,109
Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $42,795
  • Year 2: $43,000
  • Year 3: $49,516
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $42,391
  • Year 2: $42,682
  • Year 3: $47,721
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $41,154
  • Year 2: $45,584
  • Year 3: $46,743
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $41,411
  • Year 2: $40,441
  • Year 3: $44,647
Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $97,897
  • Year 2: $94,408
  • Year 3: $113,966
Economics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $56,029
  • Year 2: $81,702
  • Year 3: $88,391
Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $43,119
  • Year 2: $39,369
  • Year 3: $44,841
Education, Other (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $47,260
  • Year 3: $42,944
Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $34,425
  • Year 2: $25,194
  • Year 3: $36,220
Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $68,963
  • Year 2: N/A
  • Year 3: N/A
Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $59,964
  • Year 2: $125,015
  • Year 3: N/A
Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $43,426
  • Year 3: N/A

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