Charleston Southern vs Southern Wesleyan University (SWU)

Charleston Southern University and Southern Wesleyan University, both located in South Carolina, offer distinct educational experiences for prospective students. Charleston Southern, a private Christian university, boasts a higher acceptance rate (75%) compared to Southern Wesleyan's 68%. While Charleston Southern's student body is predominantly White (68%), Southern Wesleyan's student body is more diverse, with a significant population of African American (28%) and Hispanic (14%) students. Both universities offer a range of popular majors, including Business, Education, and Nursing, but Charleston Southern has a higher graduation rate (62%) than Southern Wesleyan (58%). Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic goals and preferences.

	Charleston Southern University	Southern Wesleyan University
Overview
Location	Charleston, South Carolina	Central, South Carolina
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	4-1-4	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	68.0%	72.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation	Baptist	Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	57.2%	56.6%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $25
SAT range	990 - 1200	980 - 1168
ACT range	18 - 23	18 - 24
Students submitting SAT score	50.0%	45.0%
Students submitting ACT score	39.0%	36.0%
Total number of applicants	3,940	749
Total number of admissions given out	2,254	424
Admitted students who chose to enroll	690	163
Yield rate	30.6%	38.4%
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	$42,500	$35,643
Average net price	$18,182	$19,479
Tuition	$28,630	$25,748
Room & board	$11,032	Room/dormitory: $4,234 Meal plan: $5,018
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $22,425	100.0% Average amount $18,506
Students receiving federal student loan	56.0% Average amount $5,238	68.0% Average amount $5,469
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $10,921	12.0% Average amount $8,327

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,725 Men 35.6% Women 64.4%	1,043 Men 33.9% Women 66.1%
Graduate students	616 Men 36.7% Women 63.3%	257 Men 20.2% Women 79.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	23.5%	N/A
International students	2.3%	1.2%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,424	570
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 Pennsylvania	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Business Education Liberal Arts Family and Consumer Sciences Public Administration and Social Service
Students to faculty ratio	13:1	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	49.3%	52.1%
Dropout rate	49.7%	47.9%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,550 Year 2: $53,045 Year 3: $55,845 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $43,273 Year 2: $44,021 Year 3: $48,165 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,512 Year 2: $46,556 Year 3: $47,813 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,583 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $44,880 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,637 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $43,594 Human Services, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,018 Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: $34,205 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $18,309 Year 3: N/A Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,561 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: N/A Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,138 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,120 Year 2: $24,035 Year 3: N/A

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Charleston Southern vs Southern Wesleyan University (SWU)

Charleston Southern University

Southern Wesleyan University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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