Quad

Head-to-head

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    Merrimack grads earn $12K more ten years out than Ithaca's ($75,584 vs. $63,548)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  2. 2

    Ithaca costs about $7.5K less per year on average than Merrimack ($35,266 vs. $42,790, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  3. 3

    Ithaca graduates 7 pts more of its students than Merrimack (76% vs. 69%)

    Graduation rate
  4. 4

    Merrimack has 7 pts more first-gen students than Ithaca (21% vs. 14%)

    First-generation students
  5. 5

    Ithaca's grants cover 49% of its full price on average, vs. 42% at Merrimack

    Aid generosity
  6. 6

    Ithaca is more diverse (index 0.47 vs. 0.43)

    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

Hollow dots at the center mean that measure isn't reported.

Who's hardest to get into

Ithaca admits 69%, Merrimack 70%; Ithaca's yield is higher, at 12%.

Acceptance rate
Ithaca69%
Merrimack70%
Quad's selectivity
  • IthacaSelective
  • MerrimackAccessible
SAT middle 50%Axis 1100–1600
Ithaca
1230–1390
MerrimackTest-blind
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • IthacaGPA, school record, and prep program required
  • MerrimackGPA, school record, and prep program required

Who's on each campus

Ithaca and Merrimack are about the same size; Ithaca has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Ithaca4.2K
Merrimack3.9K
Pell Grant share
Ithaca19%
Merrimack16%

Majors and faculty

Business Administration and Management leads at both; Ithaca has 10 students per faculty member to Merrimack's 13.

Students per faculty member
Ithaca10 to 1
Merrimack13 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • IthacaBusiness Administration and Management, General8%
  • MerrimackBusiness Administration and Management, General10%

What each costs

Ithaca costs about $7.5K less a year than Merrimack on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Ithaca$35.3K
Merrimack$42.8K
Aid generosity
Ithaca49%
Merrimack42%

What each pays off

Merrimack's former students earn more, a median $75.6K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 60% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Ithaca$63.5K
Merrimack$75.6K
Graduation rate
Ithaca76%
Merrimack69%

How each has changed

Applications grew at Merrimack but fell at Ithaca; Merrimack got more selective while Ithaca got less.

Applications, 10-year change
  • IthacaShrinking−32%
  • MerrimackGrowing+100%
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