ARC-Sacramento vs Golden West College

American River College and Golden West College, both esteemed community colleges in California, offer diverse educational opportunities to students seeking higher education. While they share similarities, each institution possesses unique characteristics that cater to different academic aspirations and preferences. American River College boasts a higher acceptance rate, welcoming a broader range of students, while Golden West College maintains a slightly more selective admissions process. In terms of academic offerings, American River College excels in liberal arts and sciences, while Golden West College specializes in career-oriented programs, including nursing, business, and engineering. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further distinctions between these two colleges, encompassing acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates, to help you make an informed decision that aligns with your academic goals and aspirations.

	American River College	Golden West College
Overview
Location	Sacramento, California	Huntington Beach, California
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	69.0%	67.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	Open Admission	Open Admission
Application fees
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants
Total number of admissions given out
Admitted students who chose to enroll
Yield rate
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	Not required	Not required
High school GPA	N/A	N/A
Recommendation letters	N/A	N/A
High school transcript	N/A	N/A
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	N/A	N/A

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $24,508 Out of state: $33,388	In state: $23,843 Out of state: $31,211
Average net price	$8,101	$5,433
Tuition	In state: $0 Out of state: $8,880	In state: $1,104 Out of state: $8,472
Room & board
Available payment plans

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	89.0% Average amount $4,440	75.0% Average amount $5,611
Students receiving federal student loan	1.0% Average amount $6,131	1.0% Average amount $7,067
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $0	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	25,849 Men 47.0% Women 53.0%	10,189 Men 43.0% Women 57.0%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	3.5%	2.1%
International students	0.2%	2.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	N/A	N/A
First year students are required to live on campus?	N/A	N/A
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California	California Hawaii Texas Oregon Washington

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Business Multidisciplinary Studies Health Professions Psychology	Liberal Arts Multidisciplinary Studies Health Professions Business Psychology
Students to faculty ratio	26:1	26:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	29.4%	41.8%
Dropout rate	46.7%	37.8%
Transferred out	7.8%	8.8%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $87,305 Year 2: $92,632 Year 3: $94,784 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $34,120 Year 2: $26,933 Year 3: $44,180 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $24,421 Year 3: $37,991 Social Sciences, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $24,748 Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $31,533 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $23,662 American Sign Language (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Legal Support Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: N/A Biological and Physical Sciences (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $25,407 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $18,315 Year 3: N/A Human Services, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $67,253 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $81,153 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $22,411 Year 2: $15,695 Year 3: $26,025 Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $17,701 Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $17,577 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Criminal Justice and Corrections (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $67,154 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Business/Commerce, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $12,468 Year 3: N/A

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