Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) vs Pomona College

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and Pomona College, two 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. Pomona College, a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California, has a highly selective admissions process, with an acceptance rate of 9%. Both colleges offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors at MCLA including Business Administration, Psychology, and Criminal Justice, while Pomona College is known for its strengths in Economics, Biology, and Computer Science. MCLA's student body is predominantly composed of Massachusetts residents, while Pomona College attracts a more diverse student population from across the country and around the world. With graduation rates of 58% and 91% respectively, both colleges provide students with the necessary support and resources to achieve their academic goals. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two

	Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts	Pomona College
Overview
Location	North Adams, Massachusetts	Claremont, California
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	63.0%	96.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	91.0%	6.6%
Application fees	$50	$70
SAT range	N/A	1470 - 1570
ACT range	N/A	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score		37.0%
Students submitting ACT score		29.0%
Total number of applicants	1,371	11,620
Total number of admissions given out	1,247	771
Admitted students who chose to enroll	167	451
Yield rate	13.4%	58.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	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	$74,873
Average net price	$14,902	$17,000
Tuition	In state: $1,030 Out of state: $9,975	$56,284
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,240 Meal plan: $5,044	Room/dormitory: $10,666 Meal plan: $7,858
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $8,496	57.0% Average amount $53,094
Students receiving federal student loan	97.0% Average amount $3,734	4.0% Average amount $4,273
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $9,492	6.0% Average amount $11,349

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	870 Men 39.2% Women 60.8%	1,764 Men 45.4% Women 54.6%
Graduate students	124 Men 33.1% Women 66.9%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	N/A	11.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,020	1,612
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	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Education Computer and Information Science Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Computer and Information Science Multidisciplinary Studies Psychology Ethnic Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	7:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	58.4%	93.0%
Dropout rate	41.6%	4.3%
Transferred out	N/A	2.5%
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	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $110,738 Year 2: $128,737 Year 3: N/A Public Policy Analysis (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: N/A Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,038 Year 2: $77,213 Year 3: N/A

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Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) vs Pomona College

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

Pomona College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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