Simpson College vs. Southwestern College

Simpson College vs. Southwestern College comparison

	Simpson College	Southwestern College	College 3	College 4
	Remove	Remove	+Add	+Add
Overview	Simpson College	Southwestern College
Location	Indianola, IA	Winfield, KS
Setting	Distant Town	Distant Town
Enrollment	1,151	1,174
Type	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year
National Ranking	#412	#453
Religious Affiliation	United Methodist	United Methodist	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	simpson.edu	sckans.edu
Team Colors

Costs	Simpson College	Southwestern College
Tuition (In State)	$44,202	$36,500
Tuition (Out of State)	$44,202	$36,500
Room & Board	$9,654	$9,380
Avg Net Price	$23,185	$27,003
Avg Grant Aid	$35,898	$26,047
% Receiving Grant Aid	100%	100%

Admission	Simpson College	Southwestern College
Admission Chances	Calculate	Calculate
Applied	1,569	1,240
Admitted	1,398	870
Acceptance Rate	89.1%	70.2%
Enrolled %	21.6%	23.3%
Avg High School GPA	3.62	3.33
Typical High School Grades	B+	B+
Admissions Standards	Average	Very Easy
Applicant Competition		Low
ACT Range	20/27	17/22
SAT Range	890/1280	900/1220
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	Aug 22, 2025

Academics	Simpson College	Southwestern College
Student to Faculty Ratio	10:1	9:1
Popular Majors	Business (22%) Education (11%) Social Sciences (8%) Liberal Arts and Humanities (7%) Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting (6%)	Business (44%) Education (12%) Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting (11%) Computer and Information Sciences (10%) Health Professions (4%)
Outcomes	Simpson College	Southwestern College
Graduation Rate	69%	57%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$48,000	$53,100
Making Student Loan Payments	77%	57%
Median Student Loan Debt	$27,000	$25,750
Median Loan Payment	$279	$266

Diversity	Simpson College	Southwestern College
% Men	48%	65%
% Women	52%	35%
Racial Diversity	Very Low	High
HBCU	No	No
% White	88%	54%
% Black	2%	12%
% Hispanic	3%	8%
% Native American	0%	2%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	1%	3%
% International	0%	5%
% Unknown Race	3%	15%

Students	Simpson College	Southwestern College
% In-State	67%	36%
% Out-of-State	32%	61%
Campus	Simpson College	Southwestern College
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes
Freshman Dorm Required	No	No
Meal Plan	Yes	Yes
Weekend/Evening Classes	Yes	Yes
Daycare Facility	No	No
Learn More	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• Southwestern College is larger than than Simpson College based on total student enrollment (1,174 students vs. 1,151 students)

Simpson College vs. Southwestern College Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, Simpson College or Southwestern College?

• Simpson College is 21.1% more expensive to attend than Southwestern College for in-state tuition ($44,202.00 vs. $36,500.00)
• Out of state tuition is 21.1% higher at Simpson College than Southwestern College ($44,202.00 vs. $36,500.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Simpson College than Southwestern College ($23,185 vs. $27,003)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at Southwestern College are 2.9% lower than costs at Simpson College ($9,380 vs. $9,654)
• The same percent of students receive financial grant aid at Simpson College as Southwestern College (100% vs. 100%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by Simpson College students is 37.8% larger than aid received Southwestern College ($35,898 vs. $26,047)

Simpson College vs. Southwestern College Admissions Difficulty Comparison

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

• The average SAT score at Simpson College (1104) is 105 points higher than at Southwestern College (999)
• Incoming Simpson College students have a 2 point higher average ACT score (24) than students at Southwestern College (22)
• Accepted freshman Simpson College students have a 0.29 point higher average high school GPA (3.62) than students at Southwestern College (3.33)
• Simpson College has a higher acceptance rate (89.1%) than Southwestern College (70.2%)

Simpson College vs. Southwestern College Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, Simpson College or Southwestern 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 Southwestern College and Simpson College.

• The graduation rate at Simpson College is higher than Southwestern College (69% vs. 57%)
• Graduates from Southwestern College earn on average $5,100 more per year than Simpson College graduates after ten years. ($53,100 vs. $48,000)
• Southwestern College students graduate with a $1,250 lower median federal student loan debt than Simpson College graduates. ($25,750 vs. $27,000)
• Southwestern College graduates are paying $13 less per month on federal student loans than Simpson College graduates. ($266 vs. $279)
• More Simpson College graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former Southwestern College students, three years after graduation. (77% vs. 57%)

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