Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) vs ECSU-Willimantic

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU) are two public institutions offering distinct educational experiences. MCLA, located in North Adams, Massachusetts, boasts a smaller student body and a lower acceptance rate compared to ECSU in Willimantic, Connecticut. While both universities offer a range of undergraduate programs, MCLA focuses primarily on liberal arts and sciences, while ECSU offers a broader selection of majors, including professional and pre-professional programs. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover further differences in student demographics, graduation rates, and other key factors that can help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Eastern Connecticut State University	Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Overview
Location	Willimantic, Connecticut	North Adams, Massachusetts
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	Town: Fringe
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	77.0%	63.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	73.2%	91.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50	$50
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	4,630	1,371
Total number of admissions given out	3,389	1,247
Admitted students who chose to enroll	784	167
Yield rate	23.1%	13.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $25,620 Out of state: $39,024	In state: $25,928 Out of state: $34,873
Average net price	$19,054	$14,902
Tuition	In state: $6,162 Out of state: $18,436	In state: $1,030 Out of state: $9,975
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,270 Meal plan: $6,164	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)	95.0% Average amount $8,680	99.0% Average amount $8,496
Students receiving federal student loan	61.0% Average amount $5,285	97.0% Average amount $3,734
Students taking out private loans	9.0% Average amount $12,507	12.0% Average amount $9,492

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	4,145 Men 41.8% Women 58.2%	870 Men 39.2% Women 60.8%
Graduate students	174 Men 30.5% Women 69.5%	124 Men 33.1% Women 66.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	13.0%	N/A
International students	0.6%	N/A
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	2,435	1,020
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Connecticut Mississippi North Carolina New York Rhode Island	Mississippi New York Vermont Connecticut Rhode Island

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Psychology Education Liberal Arts Health Professions	Business Education Computer and Information Science Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	57.0%	58.4%
Dropout rate	41.6%	41.6%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Information Science/Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,410 Year 2: $53,984 Year 3: $70,171 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,288 Year 2: $58,479 Year 3: $63,206 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,596 Year 2: $48,823 Year 3: $56,642 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,082 Year 2: $44,305 Year 3: $55,290 Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,802 Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $52,374 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,427 Year 2: $32,711 Year 3: $48,234 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,681 Year 2: $39,099 Year 3: $47,307 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $45,052 Year 2: $43,128 Year 3: $47,145 Social Work (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,483 Year 2: $31,423 Year 3: $46,610 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,969 Year 2: $33,281 Year 3: $44,335	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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