Occidental College vs Colby College

Occidental College and Colby College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Occidental, nestled in Los Angeles, California, boasts an acceptance rate of 34%, while Colby, located in Waterville, Maine, has a slightly lower acceptance rate of 28%. Occidental's student body is more diverse, with 48% students of color compared to Colby's 28%. Both colleges excel in academics, with Occidental's popular majors including Economics, Psychology, and Biology, and Colby's strengths lying in Government, Economics, and Biology. Occidental's four-year graduation rate stands at 82%, while Colby's is slightly higher at 86%. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table below, highlighting key differences between these two exceptional institutions.

	Colby College	Occidental College
Overview
Location	Waterville, Maine	Los Angeles, California
Campus setting	Town: Remote	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	4-1-4	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	95.0%	92.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	8.9%	38.2%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $60
SAT range	1400 - 1530	1340 - 1490
ACT range	32 - 34	30 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	40.0%	29.0%
Students submitting ACT score	28.0%	22.0%
Total number of applicants	15,857	6,495
Total number of admissions given out	1,407	2,484
Admitted students who chose to enroll	667	535
Yield rate	47.4%	21.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not 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	$68,825	$77,878
Average net price	$17,912	$43,047
Tuition	$58,640	$57,830
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,150 Meal plan: $7,595	Room/dormitory: $9,512 Meal plan: $8,090
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	100.0% Average amount $29,715
Students receiving federal student loan	8.0% Average amount $5,140	31.0% Average amount $4,603
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $18,242	17.0% Average amount $6,554

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,262 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	1,964 Men 42.1% Women 57.9%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	62.5%
International students	9.5%	6.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,242	1,650
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	California Washington New York Illinois Mississippi

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Psychology Multidisciplinary Studies Mathematics and Statistics Natural Resources and Conservation	Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Physical Science Multidisciplinary Studies Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	86.6%	82.9%
Dropout rate	5.7%	4.1%
Transferred out	7.5%	12.6%
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	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,544 Year 2: $55,078 Year 3: $63,231 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,360 Year 2: $37,779 Year 3: $49,843 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,329 Year 2: $36,132 Year 3: $45,083 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,948 Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: $43,488 Cultural Studies/Critical Theory and Analysis (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $33,877 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,967 Year 3: $31,152 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,035 Year 2: $26,933 Year 3: $31,095 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,916 Year 2: $30,047 Year 3: $30,729 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: N/A Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $15,793 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: N/A

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