Catawba College vs Western Carolina University (WCU)

Catawba College and Western Carolina University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning in North Carolina, offer distinct educational experiences. Catawba, a private liberal arts college, boasts a selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 68%, while Western Carolina, a public research university, welcomes a broader range of students with an acceptance rate of 79%. Catawba's student body is predominantly White (78%) and female (58%), while Western Carolina's student body is more diverse, with a larger proportion of White (69%), Black (12%), and Hispanic (10%) students, and a more balanced gender ratio. Both institutions offer a wide range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors at Catawba including Business, Education, and Psychology, and popular majors at Western Carolina including Business, Health Professions, and Education. With graduation rates of 63% and 59% respectively, both colleges demonstrate a commitment to student success. Explore the detailed

	Catawba College	Western Carolina University
Overview
Location	Salisbury, North Carolina	Cullowhee, North Carolina
Campus setting	Suburb: Midsize	Town: Distant
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%	75.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	56.1%	79.4%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	990 - 1150	1060 - 1230
ACT range	18 - 26	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score	33.0%	12.0%
Students submitting ACT score	49.0%	43.0%
Total number of applicants	2,199	12,308
Total number of admissions given out	1,234	9,775
Admitted students who chose to enroll	264	1,729
Yield rate	21.4%	17.7%
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	$46,262	In state: $19,349 Out of state: $23,349
Average net price	$19,276	$13,082
Tuition	$32,380	In state: $1,000 Out of state: $5,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,564 Meal plan: $4,566	Room/dormitory: $6,403 Meal plan: $5,029
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $26,327	73.0% Average amount $5,772
Students receiving federal student loan	63.0% Average amount $5,262	56.0% Average amount $4,850
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $11,314	9.0% Average amount $9,396

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,142 Men 47.9% Women 52.1%	10,145 Men 43.6% Women 56.4%
Graduate students	65 Men 52.3% Women 47.7%	1,732 Men 32.1% Women 67.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	17.7%
International students	5.2%	1.7%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Midsize	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	688	3,815
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 South Carolina Georgia Florida Tennessee

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Education Visual & Performing Arts Communication and Journalism	Health Professions Education Business Public Administration and Social Service Engineering Technologies
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%	61.4%
Dropout rate	39.5%	10.2%
Transferred out	N/A	27.5%
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	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,321 Year 2: $103,913 Year 3: $103,661 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,207 Year 2: $64,990 Year 3: $72,372 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,769 Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $72,367 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $65,460 Year 2: $67,324 Year 3: $68,635 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,202 Year 2: $58,221 Year 3: $64,334 Engineering Technology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,173 Year 2: $54,996 Year 3: $63,171 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $64,798 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $61,637 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,571 Year 2: $55,512 Year 3: $59,030 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,835 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $58,930 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,362 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $57,003

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