Carleton College vs Smith College

Carleton College and Smith College, both highly regarded liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Carleton, located in Northfield, Minnesota, boasts a slightly higher acceptance rate (23.5% vs. 21.5%) and a smaller student body (2,100 vs. 2,600), fostering a close-knit community. Smith, situated in Northampton, Massachusetts, excels in gender diversity with an all-female student body, while Carleton maintains a balanced gender ratio. While both colleges offer a wide range of academic programs, Carleton is known for its strengths in the natural sciences and engineering, while Smith is recognized for its social sciences and humanities offerings. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these institutions' unique characteristics and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Carleton College	Smith College
Overview
Location	Northfield, Minnesota	Northampton, Massachusetts
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 and Graduate
Students retention rate	95.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	17.5%	29.9%
Application fees		$60
SAT range	1408 - 1550	1370 - 1530
ACT range	31 - 35	31 - 34
Students submitting SAT score	35.0%	34.0%
Students submitting ACT score	34.0%	20.0%
Total number of applicants	7,915	6,064
Total number of admissions given out	1,389	1,814
Admitted students who chose to enroll	555	676
Yield rate	40.0%	37.3%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$78,315	$68,128
Average net price	$31,718	$29,569
Tuition	$59,850	$55,830
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,115 Meal plan: $7,260	Room/dormitory: $9,700 Meal plan: $9,720
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	70.0% Average amount $44,108
Students receiving federal student loan	45.0% Average amount $3,914	35.0% Average amount $3,560
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $14,334	5.0% Average amount $8,280

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,044 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%	2,566 Men 0.1% Women 99.9%
Graduate students	N/A	358 Men 16.2% Women 83.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	81.5%	N/A
International students	10.2%	13.4%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,854	2,519
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	Mississippi New York California Connecticut Maryland

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Mathematics and Statistics Visual & Performing Arts	Public Administration and Social Service Engineering Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	8:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	91.4%	91.0%
Dropout rate	8.3%	3.6%
Transferred out	N/A	5.1%
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	Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,496 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $70,990 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $47,650 Year 3: $56,651 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,011 Year 2: $45,554 Year 3: $53,962 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $46,620 Year 3: $53,886 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $42,098 Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $48,619 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,776 Year 2: $39,153 Year 3: $43,120 Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,839 Year 3: $41,147 Research and Experimental Psychology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,006 Year 2: $18,566 Year 3: $41,145 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,954 Year 2: $28,019 Year 3: $40,411 Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $34,603 Year 3: $38,497

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Carleton College vs Smith College

Carleton College

Smith College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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