Quad

Head-to-head

Lees-McRae
Meredith

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    Lees-McRae has 18 pts more first-gen students than Meredith (40% vs. 22%)

    First-generation students
  2. 2

    Meredith's grants cover 56% of its full price on average, vs. 39% at Lees-McRae

    Aid generosity
  3. 3

    Meredith grads earn $8.1K more ten years out than Lees-McRae's ($51,539 vs. $43,415)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  4. 4

    Meredith graduates 7 pts more of its students than Lees-McRae (69% vs. 62%)

    Graduation rate
  5. 5

    Meredith costs about $4.2K less per year on average than Lees-McRae ($26,430 vs. $30,613, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  6. 6

    Meredith's yield is 5 pts higher than Lees-McRae's

    Yield 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

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

Who's hardest to get into

Meredith admits 74%, Lees-McRae 77%; Meredith's yield is higher, at 18%.

Acceptance rate
Lees-McRae77%
Meredith74%
Quad's selectivity
  • Lees-McRaeAccessible
  • MeredithSelective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1000–1600
Lees-McRaeTest-blind
Meredith
1098–1348
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • Lees-McRaeGPA, school record, and prep program required
  • MeredithGPA, school record, and prep program required

Who's on each campus

Meredith is a bit larger than Lees-McRae (1,188 vs. 873 undergrads); Lees-McRae has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Lees-McRae873
Meredith1.2K
Pell Grant share
Lees-McRae37%
Meredith36%

Majors and faculty

Wildlife Biology leads at Lees-McRae, and Biology/Biological Sciences at Meredith; Meredith has 10 students per faculty member to Lees-McRae's 11.

Students per faculty member
Lees-McRae11 to 1
Meredith10 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • Lees-McRaeWildlife Biology22%
  • MeredithBiology/Biological Sciences, General14%

What each costs

Meredith costs about $4.2K less a year than Lees-McRae on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Lees-McRae$30.6K
Meredith$26.4K
Aid generosity
Lees-McRae39%
Meredith56%

What each pays off

Meredith's former students earn more, a median $51.5K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 60% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Lees-McRae$43.4K
Meredith$51.5K
Graduation rate
Lees-McRae62%
Meredith69%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; both got less selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • Lees-McRaeGrowing+38%
  • MeredithGrowing+10%
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

Sources:IPEDS Admissions survey, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, most recent release;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard, 2023–24;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)

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