Castleton University vs University of South Carolina Aiken (USCA)

Castleton University and University of South Carolina Aiken, while both offering quality education, present distinct experiences for prospective students. Castleton, a small private university in Vermont, boasts a tight-knit community and a focus on undergraduate education, with an acceptance rate of 85%. USC Aiken, a public university in South Carolina, offers a wider range of programs and a larger student body, with an acceptance rate of 75%. Castleton's popular majors include Business, Education, and Psychology, while USC Aiken's strengths lie in Business, Education, and Nursing. Castleton's student body is predominantly White (87%), while USC Aiken's is more diverse (54% White, 30% Black or African American). Graduation rates stand at 58% for Castleton and 48% for USC Aiken. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Castleton University	University of South Carolina Aiken
Overview
Location	Castleton, Vermont	Aiken, South Carolina
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	67.0%	59.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	87.3%	83.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $40	Undergraduate: $45 Graduate: $45
SAT range	958 - 1158	960 - 1170
ACT range	16 - 22	16 - 23
Students submitting SAT score	13.0%	43.0%
Students submitting ACT score	1.0%	29.0%
Total number of applicants	2,447	1,808
Total number of admissions given out	2,136	1,510
Admitted students who chose to enroll	391	526
Yield rate	18.3%	34.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $27,308 Out of state: $44,276	In state: $24,928 Out of state: $35,386
Average net price	$17,970	$12,514
Tuition	In state: $11,832 Out of state: $28,800	In state: $10,398 Out of state: $20,856
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,312 Meal plan: $4,730	Room/dormitory: $5,316 Meal plan: $2,886
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $13,124	95.0% Average amount $7,746
Students receiving federal student loan	75.0% Average amount $5,202	50.0% Average amount $4,789
Students taking out private loans	19.0% Average amount $13,210	4.0% Average amount $8,017

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,744 Men 44.2% Women 55.8%	3,101 Men 35.0% Women 65.0%
Graduate students	625 Men 22.6% Women 77.4%	768 Men 33.5% Women 66.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	50.9%	8.8%
International students	3.2%	1.9%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,100	986
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Vermont New York New Hampshire Connecticut New Jersey	South Carolina Georgia North Carolina Florida Maryland

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Multidisciplinary Studies Education	Business Health Professions Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	55.1%	42.9%
Dropout rate	15.3%	15.6%
Transferred out	28.5%	38.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,804 Year 2: $63,855 Year 3: $68,139 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $58,221 Year 3: $62,747 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $49,942 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,266 Year 2: $37,363 Year 3: $42,872 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,556 Year 2: $31,581 Year 3: $40,781 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,579 Year 2: $26,585 Year 3: $38,364 Health/Medical Preparatory Programs (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,193 Year 2: $33,687 Year 3: $37,105 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,109 Year 2: $30,409 Year 3: $35,029 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,047 Year 3: $33,702 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: N/A	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,627 Year 2: $60,689 Year 3: $61,889 Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $50,439 Year 3: $55,200 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,411 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $42,700 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,701 Year 2: $37,748 Year 3: $41,808 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,954 Year 2: $35,559 Year 3: $34,839 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,491 Year 2: $29,995 Year 3: $33,473 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,013 Year 2: $26,121 Year 3: $32,520 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $15,167 Year 2: $17,551 Year 3: $22,590 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,827 Year 2: $30,650 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $21,139 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Castleton University

Bridgewater State University