Quad

Head-to-head

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    Pomona's yield is 6 pts higher than Swarthmore's

    Yield rate
  2. 2

    Pomona's grants cover 45% of its full price on average, vs. 42% at Swarthmore

    Aid generosity
  3. 3

    Pomona has 3 pts more first-gen students than Swarthmore (30% vs. 27%)

    First-generation students
  4. 4

    Pomona costs about $2K less per year on average than Swarthmore ($47,012 vs. $49,053, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  5. 5

    Swarthmore grads earn $2.5K more ten years out than Pomona's ($80,257 vs. $77,779)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  6. 6

    Pomona admits 7.1% vs. 7.5% at Swarthmore

    Acceptance rate

The shape of each school

Each axis is a national rank among 4-year colleges; further out = more of it.

SelectivityTest scoresSizePell shareFirst-genDiversity

Who's hardest to get into

Pomona admits 7.1%, Swarthmore 7.5%; Pomona's yield is higher, at 50%.

Acceptance rate
Pomona7.1%
Swarthmore7.5%
Quad's selectivity
  • PomonaUltra selective
  • SwarthmoreHighly selective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1400–1600
Pomona
1490–1560
Swarthmore
1490–1560
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • PomonaRigor, GPA, and rank very important
  • SwarthmoreSchool record required

Who's on each campus

Pomona and Swarthmore are about the same size; Pomona has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Pomona1.7K
Swarthmore1.6K
Pell Grant share
Pomona20%
Swarthmore19%

Majors and faculty

Computer Science leads at Pomona, and Economics at Swarthmore; both have 7 students per faculty member.

Students per faculty member
Pomona7 to 1
Swarthmore7 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • PomonaComputer Science17%
  • SwarthmoreEconomics, General13%

What each costs

Pomona costs about $2K less a year than Swarthmore on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Pomona$47K
Swarthmore$49.1K
Aid generosity
Pomona45%
Swarthmore42%

What each pays off

Swarthmore's former students earn more, a median $80.3K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 90% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Pomona$77.8K
Swarthmore$80.3K
Graduation rate
Pomona95%
Swarthmore95%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; both got more selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • PomonaGrowing+59%
  • SwarthmoreGrowing+136%
All the numbersEvery figure for these colleges in one table, with differences highlighted.
Sources for this comparisonEvery dataset and year behind the numbers in this comparison; tap any ⓘ for one number's source

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why