Occidental College vs Mount Holyoke College

Occidental College and Mount Holyoke College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Occidental, nestled in the vibrant city of Los Angeles, boasts a diverse student body and a strong focus on social justice. Mount Holyoke, located in the historic town of South Hadley, Massachusetts, is a women's college renowned for its rigorous academics and supportive community. With acceptance rates of 33% and 56%, respectively, both colleges are highly selective. Occidental's popular majors include Economics, Psychology, and Biology, while Mount Holyoke's strengths lie in English, History, and Political Science. While Occidental's student body is 48% female and 52% male, Mount Holyoke's is exclusively female. Both colleges boast impressive graduation rates, with Occidental at 86% and Mount Holyoke at 88%. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two exceptional

	Mount Holyoke College	Occidental College
Overview
Location	South Hadley, Massachusetts	Los Angeles, California
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: 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	91.0%	92.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	52.3%	38.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $60
SAT range	1300 - 1510	1340 - 1490
ACT range	31 - 35	30 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	24.0%	29.0%
Students submitting ACT score	11.0%	22.0%
Total number of applicants	3,971	6,495
Total number of admissions given out	2,077	2,484
Admitted students who chose to enroll	608	535
Yield rate	29.3%	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)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$73,438	$77,878
Average net price	$29,218	$43,047
Tuition	$56,300	$57,830
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,320 Meal plan: $8,260	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)	100.0% Average amount $30,351	100.0% Average amount $29,715
Students receiving federal student loan	42.0% Average amount $4,906	31.0% Average amount $4,603
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $4,982	17.0% Average amount $6,554

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,220 Men 0.1% Women 99.9%	1,964 Men 42.1% Women 57.9%
Graduate students	122 Men 13.1% Women 86.9%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	62.5%
International students	23.1%	6.3%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,171	1,650
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Mississippi New York California Connecticut Florida	California Washington New York Illinois Mississippi

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Education Foreign Languages and Literatures Biological and Biomedical Sciences Visual & Performing Arts	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	85.0%	82.9%
Dropout rate	2.9%	4.1%
Transferred out	11.9%	12.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	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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