Carleton College vs Lafayette College

Carleton College and Lafayette College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Carleton, nestled in Northfield, Minnesota, boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 18.5%, while Lafayette, located in Easton, Pennsylvania, is slightly less selective with an acceptance rate of 29.4%. Carleton's student body is more diverse, with international students comprising 13% of the population compared to Lafayette's 6%. Both colleges excel in academics, with Carleton's popular majors including economics, political science, and biology, while Lafayette's strengths lie in engineering, business, and psychology. Carleton's graduation rate stands at an impressive 93%, while Lafayette's is slightly lower at 88%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two exceptional institutions and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Carleton College	Lafayette College
Overview
Location	Northfield, Minnesota	Easton, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Trimester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	95.0%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	17.5%	40.7%
Application fees		$65
SAT range	1408 - 1550	1300 - 1460
ACT range	31 - 35	30 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	35.0%	28.0%
Students submitting ACT score	34.0%	13.0%
Total number of applicants	7,915	8,262
Total number of admissions given out	1,389	3,366
Admitted students who chose to enroll	555	782
Yield rate	40.0%	23.2%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	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	$78,315	$75,934
Average net price	$31,718	$38,754
Tuition	$59,850	$55,874
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,115 Meal plan: $7,260	Room/dormitory: $10,308 Meal plan: $6,362
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	65.0% Average amount $45,715	61.0% Average amount $34,668
Students receiving federal student loan	45.0% Average amount $3,914	26.0% Average amount $4,491
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $14,334	7.0% Average amount $23,831

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,044 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%	2,725 Men 51.2% Women 48.8%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	81.5%	82.6%
International students	10.2%	7.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,854	2,510
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Minnesota California Illinois New York Texas	New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Mississippi Connecticut

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Mathematics and Statistics Visual & Performing Arts	Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Social Sciences Physical Science Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	8:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	91.4%	87.9%
Dropout rate	8.3%	2.5%
Transferred out	N/A	9.6%
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	Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,532 Year 2: $68,379 Year 3: $80,306 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,033 Year 2: $65,238 Year 3: $78,021 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $77,247 Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: $76,714 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,784 Year 2: $65,486 Year 3: $76,536 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,714 Year 2: $72,403 Year 3: $75,320 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,927 Year 2: $58,943 Year 3: $72,455 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,229 Year 2: $48,198 Year 3: $60,266 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,408 Year 2: $44,468 Year 3: $57,092 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,680 Year 2: $32,391 Year 3: $50,156 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,170 Year 3: $48,201

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Carleton College vs Lafayette College

Carleton College

Lafayette College

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Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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