Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) vs Carleton College

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and Carleton College, while both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. MCLA, a public liberal arts college in North Adams, Massachusetts, boasts an acceptance rate of 88%, making it more accessible to a wider range of students. Carleton, a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, is highly selective, with an acceptance rate of 22%. MCLA's student body is predominantly female (62%), while Carleton's is more evenly balanced (51% female, 49% male). Both colleges offer a diverse range of majors, with popular choices at MCLA including Business Administration, Psychology, and Criminal Justice, and popular choices at Carleton including Economics, Biology, and Political Science. With graduation rates of 58% and 89% respectively, Carleton has a higher graduation rate than MCLA. Explore the comparison table below to delve deeper into the differences between these two colleges and find the one that best

	Carleton College	Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Overview
Location	Northfield, Minnesota	North Adams, Massachusetts
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Town: Fringe
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Trimester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	95.0%	63.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	17.5%	91.0%
Application fees		$50
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	1,371
Total number of admissions given out	1,389	1,247
Admitted students who chose to enroll	555	167
Yield rate	40.0%	13.4%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$78,315	In state: $25,928 Out of state: $34,873
Average net price	$31,718	$14,902
Tuition	$59,850	In state: $1,030 Out of state: $9,975
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,115 Meal plan: $7,260	Room/dormitory: $7,240 Meal plan: $5,044
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	99.0% Average amount $8,496
Students receiving federal student loan	45.0% Average amount $3,914	97.0% Average amount $3,734
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $14,334	12.0% Average amount $9,492

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,044 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%	870 Men 39.2% Women 60.8%
Graduate students	N/A	124 Men 33.1% Women 66.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	81.5%	N/A
International students	10.2%	N/A
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	1,854	1,020
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 Vermont Connecticut Rhode Island

Academics
Popular study areas	Physical Science Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Mathematics and Statistics Visual & Performing Arts	Business Education Computer and Information Science Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	8:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	91.4%	58.4%
Dropout rate	8.3%	41.6%
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	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,895 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $73,830 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,172 Year 2: $34,467 Year 3: $40,733 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,359 Year 2: $27,181 Year 3: $40,148 Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,284 Year 3: $35,408 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,617 Year 2: $32,569 Year 3: $34,741 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,798 Year 2: $31,828 Year 3: $32,817 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,438 Year 2: $28,236 Year 3: $32,425 Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,231 Year 2: $29,374 Year 3: $31,158 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,032 Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: N/A Visual and Performing Arts, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,169 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A

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Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) vs Carleton College

Carleton College

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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