Carleton College vs La Sierra University

Carleton College and La Sierra University, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Carleton, a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 22%, while La Sierra, a private Christian university in Riverside, California, offers a more accessible admissions process with an acceptance rate of 70%. Carleton's student body is predominantly White (68%) and international (13%), while La Sierra's student body is more diverse, with a significant Hispanic population (43%) and a smaller international population (10%). Both institutions offer a range of popular majors, with Carleton emphasizing the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, and La Sierra offering programs in health professions, business, and education. With graduation rates of 92% and 55% respectively, Carleton and La Sierra provide students with distinct pathways to success. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover more about these

	Carleton College	La Sierra University
Overview
Location	Northfield, Minnesota	Riverside, California
Campus setting	Town: Distant	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Trimester	Quarter
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	95.0%	72.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation		Protestant

Admission
Acceptance rate	17.5%	66.1%
Application fees
SAT range	1408 - 1550	880 - 1140
ACT range	31 - 35	18 - 28
Students submitting SAT score	35.0%	25.0%
Students submitting ACT score	34.0%	2.0%
Total number of applicants	7,915	2,726
Total number of admissions given out	1,389	1,801
Admitted students who chose to enroll	555	287
Yield rate	40.0%	15.9%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$78,315	$59,289
Average net price	$31,718	$25,230
Tuition	$59,850	$33,228
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,115 Meal plan: $7,260	Room/dormitory: $4,740 Meal plan: $4,050
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	65.0% Average amount $45,715	100.0% Average amount $20,812
Students receiving federal student loan	45.0% Average amount $3,914	59.0% Average amount $4,980
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $14,334	1.0% Average amount $22,020

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,044 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%	1,351 Men 41.2% Women 58.8%
Graduate students	N/A	387 Men 33.1% Women 66.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	81.5%	N/A
International students	10.2%	14.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,854	850
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Minnesota California Illinois New York Texas	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Mathematics and Statistics Visual & Performing Arts	Law Enforcement and Firefighting Health Professions Education Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	8:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	91.4%	44.9%
Dropout rate	8.3%	20.1%
Transferred out	N/A	34.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,876 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $101,936 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,032 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $66,207 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,526 Year 2: $23,034 Year 3: $30,071 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,669 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,425 Year 2: $22,329 Year 3: N/A Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,952 Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: N/A Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,227 Year 2: $36,141 Year 3: N/A Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,625 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Physics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $42,774 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,301 Year 2: $33,719 Year 3: N/A	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $60,771 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $56,649 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,359 Year 2: $26,933 Year 3: $41,100 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $41,044 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,771 Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,215 Year 2: $16,478 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,179 Year 2: $28,019 Year 3: N/A Health/Medical Preparatory Programs (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,431 Year 2: $29,751 Year 3: N/A

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Carleton College vs La Sierra University

Carleton College

La Sierra University

Overview

Admission

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Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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