Catawba College vs NC State

Catawba College and North Carolina State University at Raleigh, two 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 and undergraduate research opportunities. In contrast, NC State, a large public research university, provides a diverse range of academic programs, extensive research facilities, and a vibrant campus life. While both institutions offer a high-quality education, their acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates vary significantly. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover which institution aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Catawba College	North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Overview
Location	Salisbury, North Carolina	Raleigh, North Carolina
Campus setting	Suburb: Midsize	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	68.0%	94.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	56.1%	47.5%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $85 Graduate: $75
SAT range	990 - 1150	1270 - 1440
ACT range	18 - 26	27 - 32
Students submitting SAT score	33.0%	21.0%
Students submitting ACT score	49.0%	34.0%
Total number of applicants	2,199	32,998
Total number of admissions given out	1,234	15,669
Admitted students who chose to enroll	264	5,046
Yield rate	21.4%	32.2%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not 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	$46,262	In state: $24,986 Out of state: $45,771
Average net price	$19,276	$14,328
Tuition	$32,380	In state: $6,535 Out of state: $27,320
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,564 Meal plan: $4,566	Room/dormitory: $6,768 Meal plan: $4,833
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $26,327	62.0% Average amount $9,318
Students receiving federal student loan	63.0% Average amount $5,262	40.0% Average amount $5,022
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $11,314	6.0% Average amount $14,600

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,142 Men 47.9% Women 52.1%	26,505 Men 50.9% Women 49.1%
Graduate students	65 Men 52.3% Women 47.7%	10,326 Men 49.8% Women 50.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	12.9%
International students	5.2%	9.5%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Midsize	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	688	10,024
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	North Carolina Virginia New York New Jersey Maryland

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Education Visual & Performing Arts Communication and Journalism	Engineering Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences Agriculture Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	11:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	59.8%	84.4%
Dropout rate	39.5%	5.0%
Transferred out	N/A	9.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Computer Software and Media Applications (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,745 Year 2: $103,078 Year 3: $122,470 Computer Science (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $94,886 Year 2: $97,071 Year 3: $113,307 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,892 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $92,582 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,869 Year 2: $74,200 Year 3: $88,476 Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $73,974 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $88,260 Civil Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $80,860 Year 2: $81,702 Year 3: $86,459 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,857 Year 2: $70,710 Year 3: $83,417 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,627 Year 2: $70,057 Year 3: $83,342 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,222 Year 2: $69,757 Year 3: $81,552 Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,081 Year 2: $70,253 Year 3: $80,463

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Catawba College vs NC State

Catawba College

North Carolina State University at Raleigh

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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