Occidental College vs Smith College

Occidental College and Smith College, two esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Occidental, nestled in Los Angeles, California, boasts an acceptance rate of 34%, while Smith, located in Northampton, Massachusetts, has a more selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 29%. Occidental's student body is diverse, with 48% identifying as students of color, while Smith's student body is predominantly female, with women comprising 98% of the undergraduate population. Both colleges excel in academics, with Occidental's popular majors including Economics, Psychology, and Biology, and Smith's strengths lying in Social Sciences, Biological Sciences, and English Language and Literature. Occidental's four-year graduation rate stands at 82%, while Smith's is slightly higher at 86%. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two exceptional institutions. Dive into the details and discover which college aligns

	Occidental College	Smith College
Overview
Location	Los Angeles, California	Northampton, Massachusetts
Campus setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	92.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	38.2%	29.9%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $60	$60
SAT range	1340 - 1490	1370 - 1530
ACT range	30 - 33	31 - 34
Students submitting SAT score	29.0%	34.0%
Students submitting ACT score	22.0%	20.0%
Total number of applicants	6,495	6,064
Total number of admissions given out	2,484	1,814
Admitted students who chose to enroll	535	676
Yield rate	21.5%	37.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not 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	$77,878	$68,128
Average net price	$43,047	$29,569
Tuition	$57,830	$55,830
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,512 Meal plan: $8,090	Room/dormitory: $9,700 Meal plan: $9,720
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $29,715	70.0% Average amount $44,108
Students receiving federal student loan	31.0% Average amount $4,603	35.0% Average amount $3,560
Students taking out private loans	17.0% Average amount $6,554	5.0% Average amount $8,280

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,964 Men 42.1% Women 57.9%	2,566 Men 0.1% Women 99.9%
Graduate students	N/A	358 Men 16.2% Women 83.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	62.5%	N/A
International students	6.3%	13.4%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,650	2,519
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Washington New York Illinois Mississippi	Mississippi New York California Connecticut Maryland

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Physical Science Multidisciplinary Studies Visual & Performing Arts	Public Administration and Social Service Engineering Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Mathematics and Statistics
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	82.9%	91.0%
Dropout rate	4.1%	3.6%
Transferred out	12.6%	5.1%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,544 Year 2: $55,078 Year 3: $63,231 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,360 Year 2: $37,779 Year 3: $49,843 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,329 Year 2: $36,132 Year 3: $45,083 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,948 Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: $43,488 Cultural Studies/Critical Theory and Analysis (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $33,877 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,967 Year 3: $31,152 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,035 Year 2: $26,933 Year 3: $31,095 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,916 Year 2: $30,047 Year 3: $30,729 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: N/A Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $15,793 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: N/A	Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,496 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $70,990 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $47,650 Year 3: $56,651 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,011 Year 2: $45,554 Year 3: $53,962 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $46,620 Year 3: $53,886 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $42,098 Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $48,619 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,776 Year 2: $39,153 Year 3: $43,120 Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,839 Year 3: $41,147 Research and Experimental Psychology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,006 Year 2: $18,566 Year 3: $41,145 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,954 Year 2: $28,019 Year 3: $40,411 Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $34,603 Year 3: $38,497

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Occidental College vs Smith College

Occidental College

Smith College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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