Coastal Carolina University vs Western Carolina University (WCU)

Nestled in the heart of South Carolina's Grand Strand, Coastal Carolina University, and Western Carolina University, located in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, offer distinct educational experiences. Coastal Carolina boasts a higher acceptance rate, making it a more accessible option for aspiring students. Western Carolina, on the other hand, has a slightly lower acceptance rate, indicating a more selective admissions process. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with Coastal Carolina excelling in fields like Business Administration and Marine Science, while Western Carolina shines in areas such as Nursing and Education. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further differences, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and more, to help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Coastal Carolina University	Western Carolina University
Overview
Location	Conway, South Carolina	Cullowhee, North Carolina
Campus setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	72.0%	75.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	79.1%	79.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $45 Graduate: $45	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	1030 - 1190	1060 - 1230
ACT range	20 - 25	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score	29.0%	12.0%
Students submitting ACT score	13.0%	43.0%
Total number of applicants	15,481	12,308
Total number of admissions given out	12,251	9,775
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,519	1,729
Yield rate	20.6%	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)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $26,318 Out of state: $42,072	In state: $19,349 Out of state: $23,349
Average net price	$14,956	$13,082
Tuition	In state: $11,460 Out of state: $27,214	In state: $1,000 Out of state: $5,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,440 Meal plan: $3,928	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)	91.0% Average amount $9,834	73.0% Average amount $5,772
Students receiving federal student loan	60.0% Average amount $5,848	56.0% Average amount $4,850
Students taking out private loans	16.0% Average amount $20,291	9.0% Average amount $9,396

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,790 Men 44.9% Women 55.1%	10,145 Men 43.6% Women 56.4%
Graduate students	683 Men 30.7% Women 69.3%	1,732 Men 32.1% Women 67.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	60.2%	17.7%
International students	1.2%	1.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	4,728	3,815
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	South Carolina New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Maryland	North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Tennessee

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Business Communication and Journalism	Health Professions Education Business Public Administration and Social Service Engineering Technologies
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	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	51.2%	61.4%
Dropout rate	11.4%	10.2%
Transferred out	36.7%	27.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $49,378 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $69,235 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $44,086 Year 2: $48,198 Year 3: $61,332 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,114 Year 2: $53,497 Year 3: $60,248 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,888 Year 2: $65,750 Year 3: $59,685 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,976 Year 2: $34,704 Year 3: $44,693 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $42,824 Year 2: $42,873 Year 3: $44,446 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,464 Year 2: $37,856 Year 3: $44,425 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,250 Year 2: $38,168 Year 3: $43,145 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,430 Year 2: $38,597 Year 3: $42,978 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,101 Year 2: $36,423 Year 3: $42,472	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

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Coastal Carolina University

University of West Alabama