Simpson College vs. Saint Benedict

Simpson College vs. College of Saint Benedict comparison

	Simpson College	College of Saint Benedict	College 3	College 4
	Remove	Remove	+Add	+Add
Overview	Simpson College	Saint Benedict
Location	Indianola, IA	Saint Joseph, MN
Setting	Distant Town	Small Suburban
Enrollment	1,163	1,451
Type	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year
National Ranking	#407	#305
Religious Affiliation	United Methodist	Roman Catholic	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	simpson.edu	csbsju.edu
Team Colors

Costs	Simpson College	Saint Benedict
Tuition (In State)	$45,306	$52,700
Tuition (Out of State)	$45,306	$52,700
Room & Board	$10,088	$12,160
Avg Net Price	$23,637	$29,720
Avg Grant Aid	$35,240	$37,173
% Receiving Grant Aid	100%	100%

Admission	Simpson College	Saint Benedict
Admission Chances	Calculate	Calculate
Applied	1,646	1,852
Admitted	1,463	1,692
Acceptance Rate	88.9%	91.4%
Enrolled %	23.4%	22.4%
Avg High School GPA	3.62	3.72
Typical High School Grades	B+	A-
Admissions Standards	Average	Moderate
Applicant Competition
ACT Range	20/27	21/27
SAT Range	890/1280	950/1220
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	Simpson College	Saint Benedict
Student to Faculty Ratio	11:1	11:1
Popular Majors	Business (22%) Education (11%) Social Sciences (8%) Liberal Arts and Humanities (7%) Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting (6%)	English and Literature (16%) Business (12%) Psychology (11%) Biology (10%) General Studies (10%)
Outcomes	Simpson College	Saint Benedict
Graduation Rate	69%	81%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$48,000	$53,700
Making Student Loan Payments	77%	92%
Median Student Loan Debt	$27,000	$26,343
Median Loan Payment	$279	$272

Diversity	Simpson College	Saint Benedict
% Men	1%	0%
% Women	1%	3%
Racial Diversity	Very Low	Low
HBCU	No	No
% White	88%	79%
% Black	2%	3%
% Hispanic	3%	6%
% Native American	0%	1%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	1%	1%
% International	0%	4%
% Unknown Race	3%	0%

Students	Simpson College	Saint Benedict
% In-State	72%	89%
% Out-of-State	27%	7%
Campus	Simpson College	Saint Benedict
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes
Freshman Dorm Required	No	No
Meal Plan	Yes	Yes
Weekend/Evening Classes	Yes	No
Daycare Facility	No	No
Learn More	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• College of Saint Benedict is larger than than Simpson College based on total student enrollment (1,451 students vs. 1,163 students)

Simpson College vs. Saint Benedict Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, Simpson College or Saint Benedict?

• College of Saint Benedict is 16.3% more expensive to attend than Simpson College for in-state tuition ($52,700.00 vs. $45,306.00)
• Out of state tuition is 16.3% higher at Saint Benedict than Simpson College ($52,700.00 vs. $45,306.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Simpson College than Saint Benedict ($23,637 vs. $29,720)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at Simpson College are 20.5% lower than costs at College of Saint Benedict ($10,088 vs. $12,160)
• The same percent of students receive financial grant aid at Simpson College as College of Saint Benedict (100% vs. 100%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by College of Saint Benedict students is 5.5% larger than aid received Simpson College ($37,173 vs. $35,240)

Simpson College vs. Saint Benedict Admissions Difficulty Comparison

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

• The average SAT score at College of Saint Benedict (1118) is 14 points higher than at Simpson College (1104)
• Incoming Saint Benedict students have a 1 point higher average ACT score (25) than students at Simpson College (24)
• Accepted freshman Saint Benedict students have a 0.1 point higher average high school GPA (3.72) than students at Simpson College (3.62)
• Saint Benedict has a higher acceptance rate (91.4%) than Simpson College (88.9%)

Simpson College vs. Saint Benedict Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, Simpson College or Saint Benedict? 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 Saint Benedict and Simpson College.

• The graduation rate at Saint Benedict is higher than Simpson College (81% vs. 69%)
• Graduates from College of Saint Benedict earn on average $5,700 more per year than Simpson College graduates after ten years. ($53,700 vs. $48,000)
• College of Saint Benedict students graduate with a $657 lower median federal student loan debt than Simpson College graduates. ($26,343 vs. $27,000)
• Saint Benedict graduates are paying $7 less per month on federal student loans than Simpson College graduates. ($272 vs. $279)
• More Saint Benedict graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former Simpson College students, three years after graduation. (92% vs. 77%)

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