College of the Atlantic vs. Sterling College

College of the Atlantic vs. Sterling College comparison

	College of the Atlantic	Sterling College	College 3	College 4
	Remove	Remove	+Add	+Add
Overview	College of the Atlantic	Sterling College
Location	Bar Harbor, ME	Craftsbury Common, VT
Setting	Rural Fringe	Remote Rural
Enrollment	367	78
Type	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year
National Ranking
Religious Affiliation	-	-	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	coa.edu	sterlingcollege.edu
Team Colors

Costs	College of the Atlantic	Sterling College
Tuition (In State)	$45,630	$40,560
Tuition (Out of State)	$45,630	$40,560
Room & Board	$10,101	$10,950
Avg Net Price	$22,692	$30,785
Avg Grant Aid	$33,884	$21,515
% Receiving Grant Aid	98%	100%

Admission	College of the Atlantic	Sterling College
Admission Chances	Calculate	Calculate
Applied	446	52
Admitted	290	48
Acceptance Rate	65%	92.3%
Enrolled %	27.9%	14.6%
Avg High School GPA	3.69	3.1
Typical High School Grades	B+	B
Admissions Standards	Unavailable	Unavailable
Applicant Competition	Low
ACT Range
SAT Range
Submit Test Scores	Not considered for admission, even if submitted (Test Blind)	Not considered for admission, even if submitted (Test Blind)
Application Deadline	Feb 1, 2026

Academics	College of the Atlantic	Sterling College
Student to Faculty Ratio	10:1	9:1
Popular Majors	General Studies (100%)	Liberal Arts and Humanities (48%) Biology (33%) Agriculture (14%) Recreation, Leisure and Fitness Studies (5%)
Outcomes	College of the Atlantic	Sterling College
Graduation Rate	71%	50%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$28,200	N/A
Making Student Loan Payments	75%	74%
Median Student Loan Debt	$19,750	$17,035
Median Loan Payment	$204	$176

Diversity	College of the Atlantic	Sterling College
% Men	1%	8%
% Women	1%	8%
Racial Diversity	Low	Very Low
HBCU	No	No
% White	72%	83%
% Black	1%	3%
% Hispanic	4%	3%
% Native American	0%	2%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	2%	0%
% International	17%	3%
% Unknown Race	1%	6%

Students	College of the Atlantic	Sterling College
% In-State	4%	0%
% Out-of-State	73%	100%
Campus	College of the Atlantic	Sterling College
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes
Freshman Dorm Required	Yes	No
Meal Plan	Yes	Yes
Weekend/Evening Classes	No	No
Daycare Facility	No	No
Learn More	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• College of the Atlantic is larger than than Sterling College based on total student enrollment (367 students vs. 78 students)

College of the Atlantic vs. Sterling College Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, College of the Atlantic or Sterling College?

• College of the Atlantic is 12.5% more expensive to attend than Sterling College for in-state tuition ($45,630.00 vs. $40,560.00)
• Out of state tuition is 12.5% higher at College of the Atlantic than Sterling College ($45,630.00 vs. $40,560.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at College of the Atlantic than Sterling College ($22,692 vs. $30,785)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at College of the Atlantic are 8.4% lower than costs at Sterling College ($10,101 vs. $10,950)
• More students receive financial grant aid at Sterling College than College of the Atlantic (100% vs. 98%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by College of the Atlantic students is 57.5% larger than aid received Sterling College ($33,884 vs. $21,515)

College of the Atlantic vs. Sterling College Admissions Difficulty Comparison

Which college is harder to get into, College of the Atlantic or Sterling College? Average SAT and ACT scores plus acceptance rates offer good insight into the difficulty of admission between Sterling College or College of the Atlantic .

• Accepted freshman College of the Atlantic students have a 0.59 point higher average high school GPA (3.69) than students at Sterling College (3.1)
• Sterling College has a higher acceptance rate (92.3%) than College of the Atlantic (65%)

College of the Atlantic vs. Sterling College Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, College of the Atlantic or Sterling College? Graduation rate, salary and amount of student loan debt are indicators of a college which offers better outcomes for its graduates. Compare the following outcomes facts between Sterling College and College of the Atlantic.

• The graduation rate at College of the Atlantic is higher than Sterling College (71% vs. 50%)
• Sterling College students graduate with a $2,715 lower median federal student loan debt than College of the Atlantic graduates. ($17,035 vs. $19,750)
• Sterling College graduates are paying $28 less per month on federal student loans than College of the Atlantic graduates. ($176 vs. $204)
• More College of the Atlantic graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former Sterling College students, three years after graduation. (75% vs. 74%)

Sources: U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov IPEDS and College Scorecard https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/