Quad

Head-to-head

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    Grinnell costs about $8.1K less per year on average than Macalester ($37,528 vs. $45,674, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  2. 2

    Grinnell's grants cover 55% of its full price on average, vs. 45% at Macalester

    Aid generosity
  3. 3

    Grinnell is 2.0× more selective than Macalester

    Acceptance rate
  4. 4

    Grinnell's yield is 9 pts higher than Macalester's

    Yield rate
  5. 5

    Grinnell has 5 pts more first-gen students than Macalester (18% vs. 13%)

    First-generation students
  6. 6

    Grinnell's SAT midpoint is 45 points higher than Macalester's

    SAT midpoint

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

Grinnell admits 15%, Macalester 29%; Grinnell's yield is higher, at 31%.

Acceptance rate
Grinnell15%
Macalester29%
Quad's selectivity
  • GrinnellHighly selective
  • MacalesterVery selective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1200–1600
Grinnell
1410–1540
Macalester
1350–1510
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • GrinnellSchool record required
  • MacalesterSchool record required

Who's on each campus

Macalester is a bit larger than Grinnell (2,131 vs. 1,729 undergrads); Grinnell has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Grinnell1.7K
Macalester2.1K
Pell Grant share
Grinnell18%
Macalester17%

Majors and faculty

Computer Science leads at Grinnell, and Research and Experimental Psychology at Macalester; Grinnell has 9 students per faculty member to Macalester's 10.

Students per faculty member
Grinnell9 to 1
Macalester10 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • GrinnellComputer Science13%
  • MacalesterResearch and Experimental Psychology, Other10%

What each costs

Grinnell costs about $8.1K less a year than Macalester on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Grinnell$37.5K
Macalester$45.7K
Aid generosity
Grinnell55%
Macalester45%

What each pays off

Macalester's former students earn more, a median $63.9K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 80% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Grinnell$62.8K
Macalester$63.9K
Graduation rate
Grinnell88%
Macalester89%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; both got more selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • GrinnellGrowing+61%
  • MacalesterGrowing+39%
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