Paine College vs Wesleyan College

Metric	Paine College	Wesleyan College
Undergraduate enrollment	388	400
Acceptance rate Lower means more selective	95.4%	59.1%
Average SAT	—	1,075
Median ACT	—	24
In-state tuition	$14,596	$27,650
Out-of-state tuition	$14,596	$27,650
Average net price What students actually pay after aid	$16,670	$12,724
Median debt at graduation	—	$24,094
Graduation rate	14.4%	44.5%
First-year retention	53.6%	76.0%
Median salary (10 yr)	$33,338	$44,317

Metric

Paine College

Wesleyan College

Undergraduate enrollment

388

400

Acceptance rate
Lower means more selective

95.4%

59.1%

Average SAT

—

1,075

Median ACT

—

In-state tuition

$14,596

$27,650

Out-of-state tuition

$14,596

$27,650

Average net price
What students actually pay after aid

$16,670

$12,724

Median debt at graduation

—

$24,094

Graduation rate

14.4%

44.5%

First-year retention

53.6%

76.0%

Median salary (10 yr)

$33,338

$44,317

What the numbers say

Wesleyan College is the harder admit at 59.1%, against 95.4% at Paine College.
Wesleyan College costs less after aid — $12,724 a year versus $16,670, a difference of $3,946 annually, or roughly $15,784 across four years.
Wesleyan College graduates report higher median earnings — $44,317 against $33,338 ten years after entry.
Wesleyan College graduates a larger share of its students — 44.5% versus 14.4%.
On pure return — salary divided by net price — Wesleyan College comes out ahead at 3.5× versus 2.0×.

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