A total of 19 colleges/universities are included, based on inputs from Hermione (provided on 2025-11-20).

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• They are in the New England region(s). Or, they are in NY.
  
• They are in City (small-medium), Suburb or Town.
  
• They are Private.
  
• The number of undergraduate students is below 4000.*
  
• The acceptance rates are not restricted (i.e., the rate was not used in selection).*
  
• They include women’s colleges, if any.
  

List of colleges selected for the presentation

Explore their locations.

Information is organized in the following - main consideration factors to explore and choose colleges:

• Academic & Learning experience
  
• Campus & Student experience
  
• Admission Context
  
• Academic Fit
  
• Cost & Financial Considerations

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And, the final section - Key Takeaways - provides strategic insights and recommended next steps.

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Unless noted otherwise, data refer to the 2024-25 academic year.

Many schools pride themselves on the percentage of classes with a small number of students.

• On average, 66% of undergraduate classes had fewer than 20 students, ranging from 38% to 76%.

Smaller classes may offer more discussion and interaction, while larger classes may provide different types of learning environments.

Legend: Fewer than 10 students in a class, 10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-99, and 100 or more.

Low retention rates typically imply low satisfaction among freshmen for various reasons, both academic and non-academic.

• On average, 93% of freshmen returned, ranging from 86% to 97%.

• Among students who started their freshman year in 2017, on average, 89% graduated within 6 years, ranging from 77% to 97%.
  
• The four-year graduation rate was 78%, on average.

An aspect of success, among many dimensions, is mid-career salary/income.

• Median salary 20 years after graduation ranges from $115K to $176K.

• On average, 75% of domestic undergraduate students are out-of-state, ranging from 15% to 94%.

Legend: White, Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, two or more races, other, and international students.

The share of female students has grown in many schools, compared to male students.

• In 2 of the 19 schools, 60% or more students are female.

Most schools accept a limited number of transfer students, but some accept a substantial number.

• On average, there were 4 incoming transfer students per 100 freshmen, ranging from 1 to 17.

Some schools have both undergraduate and graduate students, while some are exclusively for undergraduates. There are both pros and cons to having a high percentage of graduate students.

• In 2 of the 19 schools, undergraduate students account for 70% or less of the total students. In 0 schools, undergraduate students were less than half of the total.

• Among the 19 colleges, 4 offer fraternities, and 3 offer sororities.
  
• In 1 colleges, more than a quarter of undergraduate students participate in fraternities or sororities.

Acceptance rates provide a general sense of selectivity, but they do not fully capture how individual applicants are evaluated. Schools with similar acceptance rates may still differ significantly in admissions approach.

• For the 2024-25 academic year, the overall acceptance rate was on average 22%, ranging from 7% to 42%.

Hover over the line graphs and/or zoom in to see each school’s trend.

Acceptance rates tend to be higher in early decision than regular decision, but it is not necessarily easier to be accepted in early decision. Depending on the school, multiple factors explain the difference.

• Among the 17 schools that accept ED applications, on average, the ED acceptance rate was 15 percentage points higher than the overall acceptance rate.

Hover over the line graphs and/or zoom in to see each school’s trend.

• On average, 19% of enrolled freshmen were admitted via ED applications, ranging from 7% to 30%.

Hover over the line graphs and/or zoom in to see each school’s trend.

• Each school reports the relative importance of different academic and non-academic factors in their admission decisions.
  
• Next slides present the information, using a heat map with different colors. The darker, the more important.
  – Very important
  – Important
  – Considered
  – Not considered
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  Blank means the school did not answer for the specific factor.

GPA and rigor of secondary school record are considered “very important” in most schools.

There is more variation for non-academic factors. Overall, schools value character/personal qualities, extracurricular activities, and talent/ability.

“Ability to pay” may be an important factor in schools where their financial aids meet “100% of demonstrated needs” for accepted students but do not have a need-blind admission policy.
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Among the 19, 9 school(s) (shown in the red bar) fall in that category.

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Hover over the graph to see further information.

In summary, among the 19 schools:

• Early application options such as early decision (ED) and early action (EA)
  – 0 accept restrictive EA.
  – 2 accept non-restrictive EA.
  – 16 accept ED applications at two different times (ED1 & ED2).
  – 2 accept ED only once (ED1).

• Key requirements for the 2026-27 academic year
  – Standardized test scores are required in 0, compared to 9 schools before the pandemic.
  – In 13 schools, it is required (or recommended/optional) to submit supplementary essay(s). Of note, generally, it is highly recommended to write for certain prompts, even when it is optional to complete an application.

See information by school in the interactive table below.

• In 11 of the 19 schools, less than 50% of enrolled freshmen submitted SAT or ACT scores.

• Trends for submitting SAT or ACT scores are presented by college.

Below are the SAT scores among those who enrolled and submitted the scores in their applications. For reading (left) and math (right), the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles are shown.
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Hermione’s SAT scores are shown in vertical lines (reading 780 and math 790).

• Trends for the 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile SAT reading scores are presented by college.

• Trends for the 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile SAT math scores are presented by college.

Below are ACT scores among those who enrolled and submitted the scores in their applications. For English (left) and math (right), the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles are shown.
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Hermione’s ACT scores are shown in vertical lines (English 35 and math 35).

• Among the 19 schools, on average, the overall cost for the 2024-25 academic year was $83000, including tuition, fees, and room & board. There will be additional costs for textbooks, transportation, etc.

• Every school has different financial aid policies and defines financial needs differently. It is strongly recommended to estimate your cost, using each school’s net price calculator.*

• Nevertheless, the following slides present average financial aid information, which you can use for rough relative comparisons to understand their priorities.

In most schools, most grants/scholarships are used for need-based aid.

Below is the percent distribution of total grants or scholarships amount by type: merit-based non-athletic, merit-based athletic, and need-based.

Need-based aid includes different types. A grant or scholarship is an aid that students do not need to pay back.

• On average, 52% of freshmen received a need-based grant or scholarship, ranging from 31% to 68%.

• Among those who received it, the average amount ranged from $23000 to $77000.
  
• On average, it covered 70% of the overall cost, ranging from 44% to 90%.

• Only 9 of the 19 provided non-athletic merit-based scholarships.
• In those schools, on average, 17% of freshmen received it, ranging from 2% to 46%.

Focusing on 6 college(s) where 10% or more freshmen received a non-athletic merit-based scholarship:

• Among those who received it, the average amount ranged from $6000 to $28000.

• On average, it covered 26% of the overall cost, ranging from 11% to 36%.

• Only 3 of the 19 provided athletic merit-based scholarships.
  
• In those schools, on average, 7% of freshmen received it, ranging from 1% to 11%.

Focusing on 2 college(s) where 5% or more freshmen received an athletic merit-based scholarship:

• Among those who received it, the average amount ranged from $32000 to $49000.
  
• On average, it covered 48% of the overall cost, ranging from 40% to 56%.

Below is the relative ratio of the average debt/loan students have vs. the average grant/scholarship students have received by the time of graduation.

Endowment reflects the financial resources available to support students. Colleges with larger resources per student may have more flexibility in: financial aid, academic programs, and other student support services.

• 19 schools have endowment funds.
  
• The endowment fund size varies from $43K to $1625K per full-time student, at the end of fiscal year 2023.

Colleges differ in how they fund their operations. Schools that rely heavily on tuition may have less flexibility in pricing, while those with more diversified revenue sources may be more flexible. This can influence: pricing stability, financial aid strategies, and long-term institutional stability.

Below is the percent distribution of core revenue in 2023 by source: tuition and fees, state/local appropriations, government grants/contracts, private gifts/grants/contracts, investment return, and other.