Hope College vs Central College

Hope College and Central College, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Hope College, nestled in Holland, Michigan, boasts a lower acceptance rate of 72%, indicating its selectivity. Central College, located in Pella, Iowa, has a higher acceptance rate of 88%, making it a more accessible option. While Hope College's student body is predominantly White (79%), Central College's student body is more diverse, with 70% White, 10% Hispanic, and 5% Asian students. Both colleges offer a range of popular majors, including Business, Education, and Health Professions, but Hope College has a slightly higher graduation rate of 79% compared to Central College's 75%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions between these two excellent institutions and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Central College	Hope College
Overview
Location	Pella, Iowa	Holland, Michigan
Campus setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	79.0%	87.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Protestant	Protestant

Admission
Acceptance rate	74.5%	92.4%
Application fees	$25
SAT range	1000 - 1260	1100 - 1330
ACT range	19 - 25	24 - 31
Students submitting SAT score	10.0%	45.0%
Students submitting ACT score	67.0%	19.0%
Total number of applicants	2,202	4,172
Total number of admissions given out	1,641	3,854
Admitted students who chose to enroll	340	793
Yield rate	20.7%	20.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$34,302	$46,800
Average net price	$22,966	$28,688
Tuition	$19,250	$36,300
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,892 Meal plan: $5,660	Room/dormitory: $5,020 Meal plan: $6,380
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $10,353	98.0% Average amount $21,987
Students receiving federal student loan	73.0% Average amount $5,605	48.0% Average amount $5,148
Students taking out private loans	13.0% Average amount $12,712	8.0% Average amount $15,533

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,139 Men 51.3% Women 48.7%	3,132 Men 38.5% Women 61.5%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	0.1%	2.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	1,405	2,472
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Communication and Journalism Education Business English Language and Literature	Education Health Professions Business Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Foreign Languages and Literatures
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	11:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	66.1%	80.6%
Dropout rate	2.5%	19.2%
Transferred out	31.0%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $53,045 Year 3: $57,439 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,169 Year 2: $44,542 Year 3: $50,519 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,119 Year 3: $48,234 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,721 Year 3: $41,814 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $36,848 Year 3: $40,707 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: $37,077 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,314 Year 3: $33,927 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $46,790 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,508 Year 3: N/A	Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,322 Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $72,313 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $71,669 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,426 Year 2: $58,777 Year 3: $65,929 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,978 Year 2: $58,108 Year 3: $59,160 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,084 Year 2: $44,418 Year 3: $54,157 Special Education and Teaching (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,887 Year 2: $40,768 Year 3: $43,511 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,462 Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $43,135 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,998 Year 2: $38,621 Year 3: $41,964 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,013 Year 2: $35,416 Year 3: $40,600 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,918 Year 2: $21,964 Year 3: $36,728

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