Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) vs Vassar College

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and Vassar College stand as 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. Vassar College, a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, is more selective, with an acceptance rate of 28%. Its student body of around 2,500 undergraduates represents a wide range of backgrounds. While both colleges offer a comprehensive liberal arts curriculum, MCLA is known for its strengths in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, while Vassar excels in the sciences, social sciences, and interdisciplinary programs. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these institutions, including popular majors, graduation rates, and other key factors, to help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts	Vassar College
Overview
Location	North Adams, Massachusetts	Poughkeepsie, New York
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 and Graduate
Students retention rate	63.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	91.0%	20.1%
Application fees	$50	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	N/A	1420 - 1540
ACT range	N/A	32 - 34
Students submitting SAT score		31.0%
Students submitting ACT score		20.0%
Total number of applicants	1,371	10,884
Total number of admissions given out	1,247	2,193
Admitted students who chose to enroll	167	679
Yield rate	13.4%	31.0%
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	$81,330
Average net price	$14,902	$27,249
Tuition	In state: $1,030 Out of state: $9,975	$61,940
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,240 Meal plan: $5,044	$15,710
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 $49,162
Students receiving federal student loan	97.0% Average amount $3,734	46.0% Average amount $3,729
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $9,492	4.0% Average amount $14,435

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	870 Men 39.2% Women 60.8%	2,516 Men 38.4% Women 61.6%
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	8.4%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,020	2,448
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	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Social Sciences Ethnic Studies Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	58.4%	92.5%
Dropout rate	41.6%	5.6%
Transferred out	N/A	2.0%
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	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,930 Year 2: $69,535 Year 3: $93,622 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,665 Year 2: $57,995 Year 3: $66,026 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,871 Year 2: $49,683 Year 3: $59,758 Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,233 Year 2: $39,729 Year 3: $45,366 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,929 Year 2: $31,670 Year 3: $43,616 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $40,086 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,522 Year 2: $35,600 Year 3: $38,666 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,708 Year 3: $38,274 Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,008 Year 2: $28,236 Year 3: $36,733 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,175 Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: $35,465

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Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) vs Vassar College

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

Vassar College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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