Quad

Head-to-head

Swarthmore
Claremont McKenna

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    Claremont McKenna grads earn $24.5K more ten years out than Swarthmore's ($104,736 vs. $80,257)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  2. 2

    Swarthmore costs about $14.8K less per year on average than Claremont McKenna ($49,053 vs. $63,885, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  3. 3

    Swarthmore's grants cover 42% of its full price on average, vs. 26% at Claremont McKenna

    Aid generosity
  4. 4

    Claremont McKenna's yield is 7 pts higher than Swarthmore's

    Yield rate
  5. 5

    Swarthmore admits 7.5% vs. 9.4% at Claremont McKenna

    Acceptance rate
  6. 6

    Swarthmore is more diverse (index 0.82 vs. 0.79)

    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

Swarthmore admits 7.5%, Claremont McKenna 9.4%; Claremont McKenna's yield is higher, at 51%.

Acceptance rate
Swarthmore7.5%
Claremont McKenna9.4%
Quad's selectivity
  • SwarthmoreHighly selective
  • Claremont McKennaHighly selective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1400–1600
Swarthmore
1490–1560
Claremont McKenna
1480–1540
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • SwarthmoreSchool record required
  • Claremont McKennaRigor and GPA very important

Who's on each campus

Swarthmore is a bit larger than Claremont McKenna (1,613 vs. 1,388 undergrads) and has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Swarthmore1.6K
Claremont McKenna1.4K
Pell Grant share
Swarthmore19%
Claremont McKenna18%

Majors and faculty

Economics leads at Swarthmore, and Econometrics and Quantitative Economics at Claremont McKenna; Swarthmore has 7 students per faculty member to Claremont McKenna's 8.

Students per faculty member
Swarthmore7 to 1
Claremont McKenna8 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • SwarthmoreEconomics, General13%
  • Claremont McKennaEconometrics and Quantitative Economics29%

What each costs

Swarthmore costs about $14.8K less a year than Claremont McKenna on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Swarthmore$49.1K
Claremont McKenna$63.9K
Aid generosity
Swarthmore42%
Claremont McKenna26%

What each pays off

Claremont McKenna's former students earn more, a median $104.7K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 90% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Swarthmore$80.3K
Claremont McKenna$104.7K
Graduation rate
Swarthmore95%
Claremont McKenna92%

How each has changed

Applications grew at Swarthmore but held steady at Claremont McKenna; Swarthmore got more selective while Claremont McKenna held steady.

Applications, 10-year change
  • SwarthmoreGrowing+136%
  • Claremont McKennaSteady+8%
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 2018;Claremont McKenna College (Fall 2025), Fall 2025;Claremont McKenna College Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2027 applicants;Claremont McKenna College Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2024About 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