C of I vs. Cairn

The College of Idaho vs. Cairn University comparison

	The College of Idaho	Cairn University	College 3	College 4
	Remove	Remove	+Add	+Add
Overview	C of I	Cairn
Location	Caldwell, ID	Langhorne, PA
Setting	Small Suburban	Large Suburban
Enrollment	1,076	1,056
Type	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year
National Ranking	#454	#703
Religious Affiliation	-	-	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	collegeofidaho.edu	cairn.edu
Team Colors

Costs	C of I	Cairn
Tuition (In State)	$35,180	$31,881
Tuition (Out of State)	$35,180	$31,881
Room & Board	$11,935	$12,234
Avg Net Price	$22,602	$27,603
Avg Grant Aid	$25,927	$17,852
% Receiving Grant Aid	100%	83%

Admission	C of I	Cairn
Admission Chances	Calculate	Calculate
Applied	4,553	505
Admitted	2,150	422
Acceptance Rate	47.2%	83.6%
Enrolled %	13.8%	61.6%
Avg High School GPA	-	3.31
Typical High School Grades	-	B+
Admissions Standards	Challenging	Average
Applicant Competition	Low
ACT Range	20/28	23/27
SAT Range	1080/1270	1050/1260
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	Feb 15, 2026

Academics	C of I	Cairn
Student to Faculty Ratio	10:1	11:1
Popular Majors	Business (15%) Visual and Performing Arts (14%) Biology (13%) Social Sciences (10%) History (10%)	Philosophy and Religious Studies (71%) Education (13%) Business (8%) Human Services (6%) Visual and Performing Arts (2%)
Outcomes	C of I	Cairn
Graduation Rate	63%	63%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$45,700	$37,000
Making Student Loan Payments	73%	69%
Median Student Loan Debt	$25,995	$27,000
Median Loan Payment	$268	$279

Diversity	C of I	Cairn
% Men	1%	9%
% Women	1%	10%
Racial Diversity	Medium	Low
HBCU	No	No
% White	66%	72%
% Black	2%	14%
% Hispanic	14%	7%
% Native American	1%	0%
% Pacific Islander	1%	0%
% Two or More Races	3%	2%
% International	7%	2%
% Unknown Race	4%	0%

Students	C of I	Cairn
% In-State	52%	60%
% Out-of-State	32%	36%
Campus	C of I	Cairn
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes
Freshman Dorm Required	No	No
Meal Plan	Yes	Yes
Weekend/Evening Classes	No	No
Daycare Facility	No	No
Learn More	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• The College of Idaho is larger than than Cairn based on total student enrollment (1,076 students vs. 1,056 students)

C of I vs. Cairn Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, C of I or Cairn?

• The College of Idaho is 10.3% more expensive to attend than Cairn for in-state tuition ($35,180.00 vs. $31,881.00)
• Out of state tuition is 10.3% higher at C of I than Cairn University ($35,180.00 vs. $31,881.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at The College of Idaho than Cairn ($22,602 vs. $27,603)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at The College of Idaho are 2.5% lower than costs at Cairn University ($11,935 vs. $12,234)
• More students receive financial grant aid at The College of Idaho than Cairn University (100% vs. 83%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by The College of Idaho students is 45.2% larger than aid received Cairn University ($25,927 vs. $17,852)

C of I vs. Cairn Admissions Difficulty Comparison

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

• Cairn has a higher acceptance rate (83.6%) than C of I (47.2%)

C of I vs. Cairn Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, C of I or Cairn? 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 Cairn and C of I.

• The graduation rate at C of I is the same as at Cairn University (63% vs. 63%)
• Graduates from The College of Idaho earn on average $8,700 more per year than Cairn graduates after ten years. ($45,700 vs. $37,000)
• The College of Idaho students graduate with a $1,005 lower median federal student loan debt than Cairn graduates. ($25,995 vs. $27,000)
• C of I graduates are paying $11 less per month on federal student loans than Cairn graduates. ($268 vs. $279)
• More C of I graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former Cairn students, three years after graduation. (73% vs. 69%)

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