Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) vs Reed College

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and Reed College stand out as two distinct institutions of higher learning, each offering a unique educational experience. MCLA, a public liberal arts college in North Adams, Massachusetts, boasts a 90% acceptance rate, welcoming a diverse student body of over 1,800 undergraduates. In contrast, Reed College, a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, maintains a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of only 38%, fostering a close-knit community of approximately 1,400 students. While both colleges emphasize a well-rounded liberal arts education, MCLA offers popular majors in fields such as business, education, and psychology, while Reed College is renowned for its strengths in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details about these institutions, including graduation rates, financial aid opportunities, and campus life, to determine which college best aligns with your academic aspirations and

	Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts	Reed College
Overview
Location	North Adams, Massachusetts	Portland, Oregon
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	63.0%	88.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	91.0%	43.8%
Application fees	$50	$75
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	1,371	7,010
Total number of admissions given out	1,247	3,071
Admitted students who chose to enroll	167	502
Yield rate	13.4%	16.3%
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)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $25,928 Out of state: $34,873	$77,020
Average net price	$14,902	$33,056
Tuition	In state: $1,030 Out of state: $9,975	$62,420
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,240 Meal plan: $5,044	Room/dormitory: $8,130 Meal plan: $7,510
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	58.0% Average amount $43,945
Students receiving federal student loan	97.0% Average amount $3,734	46.0% Average amount $4,374
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $9,492	7.0% Average amount $19,335

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	870 Men 39.2% Women 60.8%	1,548 Men 41.6% Women 58.4%
Graduate students	124 Men 33.1% Women 66.9%	18 Men 61.1% Women 38.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	88.7%
International students	N/A	8.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,020	1,113
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	California Oregon Washington New York Colorado

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Education Computer and Information Science Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Physical Science Multidisciplinary Studies Psychology
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	58.4%	72.7%
Dropout rate	41.6%	8.2%
Transferred out	N/A	17.8%
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	English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $18,771 Year 3: $26,088 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $16,874 Year 3: $23,169 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,739 Year 3: N/A Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,125 Year 2: $30,409 Year 3: N/A Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: N/A Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,598 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 Reed College

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

Reed College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

Compare Similar Colleges

Find Colleges By State

Resources

About