Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) vs Franklin and Marshall College (FandM)

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and Franklin and Marshall College (F&M) stand out as two distinct institutions of higher learning, each offering unique educational experiences. MCLA, a public liberal arts college in North Adams, Massachusetts, boasts a 90% acceptance rate, welcoming a diverse student body of over 1,200 undergraduates. F&M, a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is more selective, with an acceptance rate of 44% and a smaller undergraduate population of around 2,200 students. While both colleges offer a range of academic programs, MCLA is known for its strengths in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, while F&M excels in the natural sciences, engineering, and business. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about the differences in tuition, graduation rates, student life, and other key factors that can help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Franklin and Marshall College	Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Overview
Location	Lancaster, Pennsylvania	North Adams, Massachusetts
Campus setting	City: Small	Town: Fringe
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	91.0%	63.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	37.5%	91.0%
Application fees	$60	$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	7,720	1,371
Total number of admissions given out	2,898	1,247
Admitted students who chose to enroll	510	167
Yield rate	17.6%	13.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	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	$80,618	In state: $25,928 Out of state: $34,873
Average net price	$26,316	$14,902
Tuition	$63,216	In state: $1,030 Out of state: $9,975
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,722 Meal plan: $6,018	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)	62.0% Average amount $50,026	99.0% Average amount $8,496
Students receiving federal student loan	53.0% Average amount $4,947	97.0% Average amount $3,734
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $16,505	12.0% Average amount $9,492

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,145 Men 44.2% Women 55.8%	870 Men 39.2% Women 60.8%
Graduate students	N/A	124 Men 33.1% Women 66.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	18.2%	N/A
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	2,272	1,020
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Mississippi New York Vermont Connecticut Rhode Island

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

Outcome
Graduation rate	82.8%	58.4%
Dropout rate	2.0%	41.6%
Transferred out	13.8%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,518 Year 2: $52,733 Year 3: $67,095 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,376 Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $59,284 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $45,852 Year 3: $53,518 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,220 Year 2: $36,848 Year 3: $50,175 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,598 Year 2: $41,441 Year 3: $49,088 Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,421 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $48,325 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $24,421 Year 3: $44,196 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,487 Year 2: $33,459 Year 3: $42,722 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $36,848 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 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

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.

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) vs Franklin and Marshall College (FandM)

Franklin and Marshall College

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

Compare Similar Colleges

Find Colleges By State

Resources

About