Columbia Southern University vs Grand Canyon University (GCU)

Columbia Southern University and Grand Canyon University, both esteemed online institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Columbia Southern boasts a higher acceptance rate, making it more accessible to aspiring students. Grand Canyon, on the other hand, attracts a larger student body, providing a more diverse and vibrant campus community. While Columbia Southern excels in business and criminal justice programs, Grand Canyon offers a wider range of majors, including healthcare and education. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve into further details, such as graduation rates, tuition fees, and available financial aid options, to determine which university aligns best with your academic goals and personal preferences.

	Columbia Southern University	Grand Canyon University
Overview
Location	Orange Beach, Alabama	Phoenix, Arizona
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (For Profit)	Private (For Profit)
Calendar system	Non Traditional	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	40.0%	71.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	Open Admission	82.8%
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		36,861
Total number of admissions given out		30,534
Admitted students who chose to enroll		7,620
Yield rate		25.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	Not required	N/A
High school GPA	N/A	Required
Recommendation letters	N/A	Not required
High school transcript	N/A	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	N/A	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$19,177	$32,100
Average net price	$12,474	$21,644
Tuition	$5,640	$16,500
Room & board		Room/dormitory: $5,300 Meal plan: $3,800
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	56.0% Average amount $3,123	100.0% Average amount $10,225
Students receiving federal student loan	41.0% Average amount $5,701	60.0% Average amount $5,346
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $0	8.0% Average amount $12,937

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	11,672 Men 65.2% Women 34.8%	65,870 Men 29.3% Women 70.7%
Graduate students	4,740 Men 53.9% Women 46.1%	37,202 Men 22.5% Women 77.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	73.1%
International students	0.0%	1.2%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	N/A	15,937
First year students are required to live on campus?	N/A	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Arizona California Washington Colorado Minnesota

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Law Enforcement and Firefighting Engineering Technologies Health Professions Computer and Information Science	Health Professions Education Business Psychology Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	31:1	20:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	33.4%	44.7%
Dropout rate	57.6%	52.9%
Transferred out	2.2%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $79,983 Year 2: $68,880 Year 3: $78,451 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $57,300 Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: $75,520 Homeland Security (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $75,707 Year 2: $71,473 Year 3: $73,060 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,385 Year 2: $67,304 Year 3: $72,485 Fire Protection (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,128 Year 2: $69,691 Year 3: $71,770 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $71,839 Year 2: $69,785 Year 3: $67,888 Fire Protection (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $66,269 Year 2: $61,922 Year 3: $65,587 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,097 Year 2: $58,092 Year 3: $62,377 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,105 Year 2: $62,260 Year 3: $59,697 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $60,526 Year 2: $58,990 Year 3: $59,493	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $117,397 Year 2: $119,061 Year 3: $125,189 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,451 Year 2: $96,705 Year 3: $100,941 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,965 Year 2: $87,641 Year 3: $91,610 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $78,940 Year 2: $77,476 Year 3: $80,825 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $75,319 Year 2: $66,821 Year 3: $68,008 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $65,248 Year 2: $64,265 Year 3: $66,703 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,382 Year 2: $57,047 Year 3: $64,355 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,308 Year 2: $59,621 Year 3: $62,793 Homeland Security (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,625 Year 2: $60,082 Year 3: $61,171 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,083 Year 2: $55,605 Year 3: $59,588

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