Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College vs. Mount Mercy College

Saint Mary of the Woods College vs. Mount Mercy University comparison

	Saint Mary of the Woods College	Mount Mercy University	College 3	College 4
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Overview	Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College	Mount Mercy College
Location	Saint Mary of the Woods, IN	Cedar Rapids, IA
Setting	Rural Fringe	Midsize City
Enrollment	1,147	1,526
Type	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year
National Ranking	#473
Religious Affiliation	Roman Catholic	Roman Catholic	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	smwc.edu	mtmercy.edu
Team Colors

Costs	Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College	Mount Mercy College
Tuition (In State)	$31,150	$36,606
Tuition (Out of State)	$31,150	$36,606
Room & Board	$11,350	$10,636
Avg Net Price	$17,358	$24,078
Avg Grant Aid	$26,438	$27,288
% Receiving Grant Aid	100%	100%

Admission	Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College	Mount Mercy College
Admission Chances	Calculate	Calculate
Applied	971	1,569
Admitted	759	1,181
Acceptance Rate	78.2%	75.3%
Enrolled %	26.4%	19%
Avg High School GPA	3.35	3.5
Typical High School Grades	B+	B+
Admissions Standards	Moderate	Unavailable
Applicant Competition
ACT Range	18/30
SAT Range	868/1052
Submit Test Scores	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)
Application Deadline		Aug 15, 2025

Academics	Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College	Mount Mercy College
Student to Faculty Ratio	9:1	13:1
Popular Majors	Education (26%) Business (18%) Psychology (10%) Social Sciences (7%) Human Services (6%)	Business (44%) Health Professions (22%) Education (10%) Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting (6%) Psychology (4%)
Outcomes	Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College	Mount Mercy College
Graduation Rate	57%	60%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$32,300	$45,900
Making Student Loan Payments	47%	71%
Median Student Loan Debt	$26,999	$22,250
Median Loan Payment	$279	$230

Diversity	Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College	Mount Mercy College
% Men	20%	36%
% Women	80%	64%
Racial Diversity	Low	Very Low
HBCU	No	No
% White	75%	81%
% Black	5%	7%
% Hispanic	2%	2%
% Native American	1%	1%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	1%	2%
% International	1%	3%
% Unknown Race	15%	3%

Students	Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College	Mount Mercy College
% In-State	71%	60%
% Out-of-State	28%	28%
Campus	Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College	Mount Mercy College
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes
Freshman Dorm Required	No	No
Meal Plan	Yes	Yes
Weekend/Evening Classes	Yes	Yes
Daycare Facility	Yes	No
Learn More	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• Mount Mercy University is larger than than Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College based on total student enrollment (1,526 students vs. 1,147 students)

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College vs. Mount Mercy College Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College or Mount Mercy College?

• Mount Mercy University is 17.5% more expensive to attend than Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College for in-state tuition ($36,606.00 vs. $31,150.00)
• Out of state tuition is 17.5% higher at Mount Mercy College than Saint Mary of the Woods College ($36,606.00 vs. $31,150.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Saint Mary of the Woods College than Mount Mercy College ($17,358 vs. $24,078)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at Mount Mercy University are 6.7% lower than costs at Saint Mary of the Woods College ($10,636 vs. $11,350)
• The same percent of students receive financial grant aid at Saint Mary of the Woods College as Mount Mercy University (100% vs. 100%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by Mount Mercy University students is 3.2% larger than aid received Saint Mary of the Woods College ($27,288 vs. $26,438)

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College vs. Mount Mercy College Admissions Difficulty Comparison

Which college is harder to get into, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College or Mount Mercy College? Average SAT and ACT scores plus acceptance rates offer good insight into the difficulty of admission between Mount Mercy College or Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College .

• The average SAT score at Mount Mercy University (990) is 38 points higher than at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (952)
• Incoming Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College students have at the same average ACT score (21) as students at Mount Mercy College (21)
• Accepted freshman Mount Mercy College students have a 0.15 point higher average high school GPA (3.5) than students at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (3.35)
• Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College has a higher acceptance rate (78.2%) than Mount Mercy College (75.3%)

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College vs. Mount Mercy College Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College or Mount Mercy 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 Mount Mercy College and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.

• The graduation rate at Mount Mercy College is higher than Saint Mary of the Woods College (60% vs. 57%)
• Graduates from Mount Mercy University earn on average $13,600 more per year than Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College graduates after ten years. ($45,900 vs. $32,300)
• Mount Mercy University students graduate with a $4,749 lower median federal student loan debt than Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College graduates. ($22,250 vs. $26,999)
• Mount Mercy College graduates are paying $49 less per month on federal student loans than Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College graduates. ($230 vs. $279)
• More Mount Mercy College graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College students, three years after graduation. (71% vs. 47%)

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