Desert College vs Hartnell

College of the Desert and Hartnell College, both esteemed community colleges in California, offer unique educational experiences tailored to diverse student aspirations. College of the Desert boasts an impressive 100% acceptance rate, welcoming students from all backgrounds to pursue their academic goals. Hartnell College, with a slightly more selective admissions process, maintains a 99% acceptance rate, ensuring that students meet certain academic criteria. While College of the Desert excels in programs like Liberal Arts and Humanities, Hartnell College shines in Agriculture and Natural Resources. Both institutions foster inclusive environments, with College of the Desert's student body comprising 53% Hispanic students and Hartnell College's student body consisting of 64% Hispanic students. Graduation rates stand at 22% for College of the Desert and 23% for Hartnell College, reflecting their commitment to student success. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover more distinctions between these two exceptional colleges and make an informed decision about your educational journey.

	College of the Desert	Hartnell College
Overview
Location	Palm Desert, California	Salinas, California
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Midsize
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	67.0%	61.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	Open Admission	Open Admission
Application fees
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants
Total number of admissions given out
Admitted students who chose to enroll
Yield rate
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	Not required	Not required
High school GPA	N/A	N/A
Recommendation letters	N/A	N/A
High school transcript	N/A	N/A
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	N/A	N/A

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $24,465 Out of state: $32,109	In state: $24,539 Out of state: $33,119
Average net price	$14,179	$7,721
Tuition	In state: $1,288 Out of state: $8,932	In state: $1,380 Out of state: $9,960
Room & board
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	95.0% Average amount $5,621	89.0% Average amount $4,336
Students receiving federal student loan
Students taking out private loans

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	10,229 Men 41.1% Women 58.9%	9,808 Men 48.1% Women 51.9%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	1.5%	1.5%
International students	0.6%	0.1%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	N/A	N/A
First year students are required to live on campus?	N/A	N/A
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Colorado Arizona Florida Indiana	California

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Liberal Arts Psychology Health Professions Family and Consumer Sciences	Liberal Arts Health Professions Psychology Law Enforcement and Firefighting Business
Students to faculty ratio	24:1	24:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	29.4%	35.2%
Dropout rate	48.9%	44.0%
Transferred out	5.0%	4.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $79,088 Year 2: $73,446 Year 3: $79,174 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $20,301 Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: $41,242 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $22,277 Year 2: $21,781 Year 3: $25,003 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $22,771 Year 2: $30,409 Year 3: $23,897 Psychology, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $16,835 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $35,428 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $24,035 Year 3: $31,579

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Desert College vs Hartnell

College of the Desert

Hartnell College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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