Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) vs Grand Valley State

Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) and Grand Valley State University (GVSU) are two distinct institutions of higher learning located in the vibrant city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. While both offer excellent educational opportunities, they differ in several key aspects. GRCC, a community college, boasts an open admissions policy, making it accessible to a wide range of students. GVSU, a public university, has a more selective admissions process, resulting in a lower acceptance rate. In terms of student demographics, GRCC's student body is predominantly local, while GVSU attracts a more diverse population from across the state and beyond. Regarding academic offerings, GRCC focuses on associate degrees and career-oriented programs, while GVSU offers a broader range of undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral programs. To help you make an informed decision about your educational journey, we have compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into these differences and more, including popular majors, tuition costs, graduation rates, and available student support services

	Grand Rapids Community College	Grand Valley State University
Overview
Location	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Allendale, Michigan
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
College type	2 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	57.0%	83.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	Open Admission	91.7%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants		17,163
Total number of admissions given out		15,730
Admitted students who chose to enroll		3,807
Yield rate		24.2%
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	In state: $21,121 Out of state: $24,841	In state: $23,604 Out of state: $29,340
Average net price	$9,168	$16,947
Tuition	In state: $7,410 Out of state: $11,130	In state: $13,560 Out of state: $19,296
Room & board		Room/dormitory: $6,380 Meal plan: $3,500
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	54.0% Average amount $5,801	80.0% Average amount $8,376
Students receiving federal student loan	16.0% Average amount $3,541	50.0% Average amount $5,161
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $8,106	6.0% Average amount $13,024

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	12,642 Men 42.3% Women 57.7%	19,379 Men 38.9% Women 61.1%
Graduate students	N/A	3,027 Men 28.0% Women 72.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	10.6%
International students	N/A	1.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	N/A	6,012
First year students are required to live on campus?	N/A	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Michigan Illinois Indiana Ohio Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Health Professions Business Engineering Technologies Law Enforcement and Firefighting	Health Professions Education Business Public Administration and Social Service Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio	18:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	19.7%	67.1%
Dropout rate	36.2%	15.6%
Transferred out	19.4%	15.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Criminal Justice and Corrections (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $51,135 Year 2: $53,358 Year 3: $61,862 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $56,133 Year 2: $54,732 Year 3: $57,616 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $35,723 Year 2: $41,025 Year 3: $44,954 Electrical and Power Transmission Installers (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $31,348 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $41,400 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $41,438 Year 2: $37,671 Year 3: $41,393 Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $43,232 Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $39,841 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,941 Year 3: $36,311 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $33,965 Year 2: $33,779 Year 3: $34,400 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $23,727 Year 2: $25,967 Year 3: $32,428 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $24,081 Year 2: $26,933 Year 3: $32,396	Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $103,525 Year 2: $105,839 Year 3: $111,967 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $91,846 Year 2: $96,539 Year 3: $93,695 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $79,623 Year 2: $71,015 Year 3: $83,454 Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,965 Year 2: $68,666 Year 3: $73,434 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,881 Year 2: $62,691 Year 3: $72,792 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,211 Year 2: $65,969 Year 3: $72,474 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,095 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $71,736 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,039 Year 2: $58,479 Year 3: $69,240 Information Science/Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,382 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $68,410 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $69,161 Year 2: $67,939 Year 3: $68,289

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