Columbia Southern University vs Saint Leo

Columbia Southern University and Saint Leo University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences tailored to diverse student aspirations. Columbia Southern, a primarily online university, boasts an open admissions policy, welcoming learners from all backgrounds, while Saint Leo, with its traditional on-campus and online programs, maintains a selective admissions process. While both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, Columbia Southern excels in business and healthcare, and Saint Leo shines in criminal justice and education. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about their acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, graduation rates, and other crucial factors that will help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Columbia Southern University	Saint Leo University
Overview
Location	Orange Beach, Alabama	Saint Leo, Florida
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (For Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Non Traditional	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	40.0%	57.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation		Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	Open Admission	70.7%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $45 Graduate: $80
SAT range	N/A	930 - 1150
ACT range	N/A	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score		37.0%
Students submitting ACT score		15.0%
Total number of applicants		10,086
Total number of admissions given out		7,127
Admitted students who chose to enroll		826
Yield rate		11.6%
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	$37,058
Average net price	$12,474	$18,336
Tuition	$5,640	$23,990
Room & board		Room/dormitory: $8,706 Meal plan: $5,900
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 $20,736
Students receiving federal student loan	41.0% Average amount $5,701	56.0% Average amount $5,287
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $0	7.0% Average amount $13,261

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	11,672 Men 65.2% Women 34.8%	6,740 Men 38.9% Women 61.1%
Graduate students	4,740 Men 53.9% Women 46.1%	2,783 Men 36.1% Women 63.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	0.0%	6.0%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Small
Dormitory capacity	N/A	1,513
First year students are required to live on campus?	N/A	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Law Enforcement and Firefighting Engineering Technologies Health Professions Computer and Information Science	Business Law Enforcement and Firefighting Liberal Arts Education Public Administration and Social Service
Students to faculty ratio	31:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	33.4%	46.2%
Dropout rate	57.6%	17.3%
Transferred out	2.2%	36.0%
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	Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $59,895 Year 3: $62,935 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,702 Year 2: $56,918 Year 3: $62,607 Educational/Instructional Media Design (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,882 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $62,492 Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $53,358 Year 3: $62,127 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $58,866 Year 3: $59,991 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $54,948 Year 3: $57,148 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $57,118 Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $56,414 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,497 Year 2: $55,770 Year 3: $56,010 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,390 Year 2: $52,299 Year 3: $55,552 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,441 Year 2: $48,883 Year 3: $51,249

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