Catawba College vs App State

Catawba College and Appalachian State University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning in North Carolina, offer distinct educational experiences. Catawba, a private liberal arts college, boasts a tight-knit community with a focus on personalized attention, while Appalachian, a public research university, offers a wider range of academic programs and a vibrant campus life. With Catawba's acceptance rate hovering around 65% and Appalachian's at 78%, both institutions welcome a diverse student body. While Catawba's student population is predominantly White, Appalachian's reflects the state's demographics more closely. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve into further details, including popular majors, graduation rates, and more, to help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Appalachian State University	Catawba College
Overview
Location	Boone, North Carolina	Salisbury, North Carolina
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Midsize
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	86.0%	68.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	84.7%	56.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	1130 - 1300	990 - 1150
ACT range	24 - 29	18 - 26
Students submitting SAT score	9.0%	33.0%
Students submitting ACT score	23.0%	49.0%
Total number of applicants	21,120	2,199
Total number of admissions given out	17,886	1,234
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,099	264
Yield rate	22.9%	21.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $22,220 Out of state: $37,827	$46,262
Average net price	$12,735	$19,276
Tuition	In state: $4,242 Out of state: $19,849	$32,380
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,595 Meal plan: $4,086	Room/dormitory: $6,564 Meal plan: $4,566
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Other alternative tuition plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	54.0% Average amount $7,652	98.0% Average amount $26,327
Students receiving federal student loan	45.0% Average amount $5,054	63.0% Average amount $5,262
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $12,285	7.0% Average amount $11,314

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	18,555 Men 43.3% Women 56.7%	1,142 Men 47.9% Women 52.1%
Graduate students	2,086 Men 29.6% Women 70.4%	65 Men 52.3% Women 47.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	10.5%	N/A
International students	0.5%	5.2%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	5,971	688
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	North Carolina South Carolina Virginia Georgia Florida	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Visual & Performing Arts Public Administration and Social Service	Business Health Professions Education Visual & Performing Arts Communication and Journalism
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	11:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	72.7%	59.8%
Dropout rate	7.6%	39.5%
Transferred out	18.3%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,824 Year 2: $60,623 Year 3: $79,392 Educational Administration and Supervision (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: $70,638 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,462 Year 2: $54,382 Year 3: $67,337 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $57,036 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $65,634 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $57,587 Year 2: $49,084 Year 3: $63,376 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,322 Year 2: $55,693 Year 3: $60,614 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,088 Year 2: $44,989 Year 3: $59,659 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,199 Year 2: $54,296 Year 3: $59,624 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,623 Year 2: $56,415 Year 3: $58,316 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,799 Year 2: $54,635 Year 3: $57,400	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,918 Year 2: $48,198 Year 3: $55,370 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,677 Year 2: $34,259 Year 3: $35,554 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,810 Year 2: $26,739 Year 3: $32,518 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,672 Year 2: $26,121 Year 3: $30,810 Music (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $16,419 Year 2: $22,482 Year 3: $29,367 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,770 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: N/A Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $23,693 Year 3: N/A

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