Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) vs New College of Florida

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and New College of Florida (NCF) are two distinct institutions offering unique educational experiences. MCLA, located in North Adams, Massachusetts, is a public liberal arts college with an acceptance rate of 86% and a student body of around 1,800 undergraduates. NCF, situated in Sarasota, Florida, is a public honors college with a highly selective admissions process, boasting an acceptance rate of only 38% and a student population of approximately 1,100 undergraduates. While both colleges emphasize liberal arts education, they differ in their academic offerings, campus environments, and student demographics. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover which college better aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts	New College of Florida
Overview
Location	North Adams, Massachusetts	Sarasota, Florida
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	63.0%	79.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	91.0%	74.2%
Application fees	$50	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30
SAT range	N/A	1120 - 1340
ACT range	N/A	23 - 29
Students submitting SAT score		83.0%
Students submitting ACT score		35.0%
Total number of applicants	1,371	1,650
Total number of admissions given out	1,247	1,224
Admitted students who chose to enroll	167	160
Yield rate	13.4%	13.1%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $25,928 Out of state: $34,873	In state: $26,960 Out of state: $49,988
Average net price	$14,902	$9,727
Tuition	In state: $1,030 Out of state: $9,975	In state: $5,227 Out of state: $27,159
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,240 Meal plan: $5,044	Room/dormitory: $7,000 Meal plan: $3,542
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $8,496	99.0% Average amount $11,855
Students receiving federal student loan	97.0% Average amount $3,734	22.0% Average amount $5,193
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $9,492	1.0% Average amount $12,800

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	870 Men 39.2% Women 60.8%	632 Men 32.6% Women 67.4%
Graduate students	124 Men 33.1% Women 66.9%	27 Men 63.0% Women 37.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	17.2%
International students	N/A	2.9%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	1,020	629
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Mississippi New York Vermont Connecticut Rhode Island	Florida Pennsylvania North Carolina Puerto Rico Alaska

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Education Computer and Information Science Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Liberal Arts Multidisciplinary Studies Natural Resources and Conservation Foreign Languages and Literatures
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	6:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	58.4%	66.3%
Dropout rate	41.6%	7.7%
Transferred out	N/A	26.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $18,003 Year 2: $22,444 Year 3: $31,011 Biological and Physical Sciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,771 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) vs New College of Florida

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

New College of Florida

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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