LaGrange College vs Wesleyan College

Metric	LaGrange College	Wesleyan College
Undergraduate enrollment	636	400
Acceptance rate Lower means more selective	62.1%	59.1%
Average SAT	—	1,075
Median ACT	—	24
In-state tuition	$35,400	$27,650
Out-of-state tuition	$35,400	$27,650
Average net price What students actually pay after aid	$20,875	$12,724
Median debt at graduation	$25,730	$24,094
Graduation rate	46.9%	44.5%
First-year retention	67.2%	76.0%
Median salary (10 yr)	$51,745	$44,317

Metric

LaGrange College

Wesleyan College

Undergraduate enrollment

636

400

Acceptance rate
Lower means more selective

62.1%

59.1%

Average SAT

—

1,075

Median ACT

—

In-state tuition

$35,400

$27,650

Out-of-state tuition

$35,400

$27,650

Average net price
What students actually pay after aid

$20,875

$12,724

Median debt at graduation

$25,730

$24,094

Graduation rate

46.9%

44.5%

First-year retention

67.2%

76.0%

Median salary (10 yr)

$51,745

$44,317

What the numbers say

Wesleyan College is the harder admit at 59.1%, against 62.1% at LaGrange College.
Wesleyan College costs less after aid — $12,724 a year versus $20,875, a difference of $8,151 annually, or roughly $32,604 across four years.
LaGrange College graduates report higher median earnings — $51,745 against $44,317 ten years after entry.
LaGrange College graduates a larger share of its students — 46.9% versus 44.5%.
On pure return — salary divided by net price — Wesleyan College comes out ahead at 3.5× versus 2.5×.

Comparison tables are a starting point, not a decision. Three things matter more than anything in the table above:

Your real aid offer. Net price is an average across all income levels. Two students at the same school can pay amounts that differ by tens of thousands. Wait for actual award letters before ruling anything out on cost.
Your intended major. Earnings vary more between majors at one school than between schools for one major. A computer science graduate from the "lower earning" school here will likely out-earn a general studies graduate from the other.
Whether you will finish. Graduation rate is the metric most predictive of whether the money spent turns into a credential. Campus fit, support services, and commute all feed into it more than prestige does.

Visit before you commit

Both LaGrange College and Wesleyan College run campus visits. Spending an afternoon on each will tell you things no dataset can.