Quad

Head-to-head

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    Smith costs about $9.5K less per year on average than Vassar ($46,488 vs. $55,985, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  2. 2

    Smith's grants cover 46% of its full price on average, vs. 36% at Vassar

    Aid generosity
  3. 3

    Vassar grads earn $7.3K more ten years out than Smith's ($71,366 vs. $64,027)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  4. 4

    Smith's yield is 5 pts higher than Vassar's

    Yield rate
  5. 5

    Smith has 4 pts more first-gen students than Vassar (19% vs. 14%)

    First-generation students
  6. 6

    Smith is more diverse (index 0.70 vs. 0.66)

    Diversity index

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

Vassar admits 21%, Smith 22%; Smith's yield is higher, at 35%.

Acceptance rate
Smith22%
Vassar21%
Quad's selectivity
  • SmithHighly selective
  • VassarHighly selective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1300–1600
Smith
1420–1540
Vassar
1460–1520
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • SmithRigor and GPA very important
  • VassarRigor and GPA very important

Who's on each campus

Smith and Vassar are about the same size; Vassar has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Smith2.5K
Vassar2.4K
Pell Grant share
Smith18%
Vassar19%

Majors and faculty

Computer Science leads at Smith, and Research and Experimental Psychology at Vassar; Vassar has 7 students per faculty member to Smith's 8.

Students per faculty member
Smith8 to 1
Vassar7 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • SmithComputer Science8%
  • VassarResearch and Experimental Psychology, Other7%

What each costs

Smith costs about $9.5K less a year than Vassar on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Smith$46.5K
Vassar$56K
Aid generosity
Smith46%
Vassar36%

What each pays off

Vassar's former students earn more, a median $71.4K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 90% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Smith$64K
Vassar$71.4K
Graduation rate
Smith91%
Vassar92%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; both got more selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • SmithGrowing+94%
  • VassarGrowing+60%
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