Hampshire College vs Carleton College

Hampshire College and Carleton College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Hampshire, known for its innovative approach, boasts a 40% acceptance rate, while Carleton, renowned for its academic rigor, maintains a highly selective 20% acceptance rate. Hampshire's student body is diverse, with 45% identifying as students of color, compared to Carleton's 38%. While Carleton students predominantly pursue majors in the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities, Hampshire students explore a wider range of interdisciplinary programs. Both colleges boast impressive graduation rates, with Hampshire at 83% and Carleton at 89%. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two exceptional institutions.

	Carleton College	Hampshire College
Overview
Location	Northfield, Minnesota	Amherst, 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
Students retention rate	95.0%	72.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	17.5%	75.1%
Application fees
SAT range	1408 - 1550	N/A
ACT range	31 - 35	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	35.0%
Students submitting ACT score	34.0%
Total number of applicants	7,915	1,340
Total number of admissions given out	1,389	1,007
Admitted students who chose to enroll	555	133
Yield rate	40.0%	13.2%
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	$78,315	$66,658
Average net price	$31,718	$30,168
Tuition	$59,850	$51,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,115 Meal plan: $7,260	Room/dormitory: $8,520 Meal plan: $5,912
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 $36,653
Students receiving federal student loan	45.0% Average amount $3,914	64.0% Average amount $4,793
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $14,334	1.0% Average amount $8,793

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,044 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%	472 Men 38.1% Women 61.9%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	81.5%	N/A
International students	10.2%	6.4%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,854	1,180
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	Visual & Performing Arts English Language and Literature Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Ethnic Studies
Students to faculty ratio	8:1	11:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	91.4%	62.4%
Dropout rate	8.3%	37.3%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
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	Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,720 Year 2: $19,829 Year 3: $23,704

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Hampshire College vs Carleton College

Carleton College

Hampshire College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

Compare Similar Colleges

Find Colleges By State

Resources

About