Quad

Head-to-head

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    Lafayette grads earn $21.2K more ten years out than Dickinson's ($91,410 vs. $70,204)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  2. 2

    Dickinson costs about $15.6K less per year on average than Lafayette ($40,358 vs. $55,911, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  3. 3

    Dickinson's grants cover 52% of its full price on average, vs. 33% at Lafayette

    Aid generosity
  4. 4

    Lafayette graduates 6 pts more of its students than Dickinson (89% vs. 83%)

    Graduation rate
  5. 5

    Lafayette admits 31% vs. 41% at Dickinson

    Acceptance rate
  6. 6

    Lafayette's SAT midpoint is 30 points higher than Dickinson'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

Lafayette admits 31%, Dickinson 41%; Lafayette's yield is higher, at 22%.

Acceptance rate
Lafayette31%
Dickinson41%
Quad's selectivity
  • LafayetteVery selective
  • DickinsonVery selective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1200–1600
Lafayette
1360–1490
Dickinson
1340–1440
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • LafayetteRigor and GPA very important37%
  • DickinsonRigor, GPA, and rank very important

Who's on each campus

Lafayette is a bit larger than Dickinson (2,757 vs. 2,273 undergrads); Dickinson has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Lafayette2.8K
Dickinson2.3K
Pell Grant share
Lafayette12%
Dickinson13%

Majors and faculty

Econometrics and Quantitative Economics leads at Lafayette, and International Business/Trade/Commerce at Dickinson.

Students per faculty member
Lafayette10 to 1
Dickinson11 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • LafayetteEconometrics and Quantitative Economics18%
  • DickinsonInternational Business/Trade/Commerce11%

What each costs

Dickinson costs about $15.6K less a year than Lafayette on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Lafayette$55.9K
Dickinson$40.4K
Aid generosity
Lafayette33%
Dickinson52%

What each pays off

Lafayette's former students earn more, a median $91.4K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 80% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Lafayette$91.4K
Dickinson$70.2K
Graduation rate
Lafayette89%
Dickinson83%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; Dickinson got more selective while Lafayette held steady.

Applications, 10-year change
  • LafayetteGrowing+31%
  • DickinsonGrowing+27%
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