Charleston Southern vs Anderson University

Charleston Southern University and Anderson University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning in South Carolina, offer distinct educational experiences. Charleston Southern, a private Christian university, boasts a lower acceptance rate of 68% compared to Anderson's 75%. While Charleston Southern's student body is predominantly White (68%) and female (58%), Anderson's student population is more diverse, with a higher percentage of African American (18%) and male (52%) students. Both universities offer a range of popular majors, including Business, Education, and Nursing, but Charleston Southern has a higher graduation rate (62%) than Anderson (58%). Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Anderson University	Charleston Southern University
Overview
Location	Anderson, South Carolina	Charleston, South Carolina
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Midsize
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	85.0%	68.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Baptist	Baptist

Admission
Acceptance rate	50.3%	57.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $40
SAT range	N/A	990 - 1200
ACT range	N/A	18 - 23
Students submitting SAT score		50.0%
Students submitting ACT score		39.0%
Total number of applicants	4,510	3,940
Total number of admissions given out	2,268	2,254
Admitted students who chose to enroll	776	690
Yield rate	34.2%	30.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$48,308	$42,500
Average net price	$21,643	$18,182
Tuition	$27,480	$28,630
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,570 Meal plan: $5,330	$11,032
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $23,514	99.0% Average amount $22,425
Students receiving federal student loan	54.0% Average amount $5,391	56.0% Average amount $5,238
Students taking out private loans	16.0% Average amount $9,984	12.0% Average amount $10,921

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,157 Men 31.6% Women 68.4%	2,725 Men 35.6% Women 64.4%
Graduate students	851 Men 45.6% Women 54.4%	616 Men 36.7% Women 63.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	23.4%	23.5%
International students	0.6%	2.3%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	1,637	1,424
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	South Carolina North Carolina Georgia Florida Tennessee	South Carolina North Carolina Georgia Florida Pennsylvania

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Theology Communication and Journalism	Business Health Professions Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	63.7%	49.3%
Dropout rate	36.1%	49.7%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $57,305 Year 2: $61,020 Year 3: $74,436 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,984 Year 2: $57,657 Year 3: $60,870 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $44,932 Year 2: $50,231 Year 3: $54,130 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,983 Year 2: $45,852 Year 3: $52,483 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,090 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $49,945 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,500 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $44,204 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,262 Year 2: $37,748 Year 3: $40,697 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $39,785 Year 2: $38,134 Year 3: $38,067 Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,964 Year 2: $37,363 Year 3: $37,856 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,480 Year 2: $36,275 Year 3: $37,052	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,078 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $80,916 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,709 Year 2: $59,425 Year 3: $64,433 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,982 Year 2: $56,867 Year 3: $57,626 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,309 Year 2: $46,589 Year 3: $54,442 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $44,112 Year 2: $48,198 Year 3: $53,093 Human Resources Management and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,775 Year 2: $36,674 Year 3: $48,261 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $45,715 Year 3: $47,106 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,190 Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: $38,459 Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,781 Year 2: $32,284 Year 3: $34,518 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,345 Year 2: $32,391 Year 3: $31,620

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Charleston Southern vs Anderson University

Anderson University

Charleston Southern University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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