Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) vs Lafayette College

Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) and Lafayette College stand as distinct institutions of higher learning, each catering to different academic aspirations and student profiles. HACC, a public community college, welcomes a diverse student body with open arms, boasting an acceptance rate of 100%. In contrast, Lafayette College, a private liberal arts college, maintains a highly selective admissions process, reflected in its acceptance rate of 33%. While HACC offers a wide range of associate degrees and certificates, Lafayette College focuses on bachelor's degrees across various disciplines. Explore the detailed comparison table to uncover further distinctions in acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates, empowering you to make an informed decision that aligns with your academic goals and preferences.

	Harrisburg Area Community College	Lafayette College
Overview
Location	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania	Easton, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	City: Small	Suburb: Large
College type	2 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	56.0%	91.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation		Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	Open Admission	40.7%
Application fees		$65
SAT range	N/A	1300 - 1460
ACT range	N/A	30 - 33
Students submitting SAT score		28.0%
Students submitting ACT score		13.0%
Total number of applicants		8,262
Total number of admissions given out		3,366
Admitted students who chose to enroll		782
Yield rate		23.2%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	Not required	N/A
High school GPA	N/A	Required
Recommendation letters	N/A	Required
High school transcript	N/A	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	N/A	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $23,659 Out of state: $25,182	$75,934
Average net price	$12,147	$38,754
Tuition	In state: $6,795 Out of state: $8,168	$55,874
Room & board		Room/dormitory: $10,308 Meal plan: $6,362
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	95.0% Average amount $4,168	61.0% Average amount $34,668
Students receiving federal student loan	45.0% Average amount $4,826	26.0% Average amount $4,491
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $7,267	7.0% Average amount $23,831

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	14,023 Men 32.8% Women 67.2%	2,725 Men 51.2% Women 48.8%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	0.8%	82.6%
International students	1.6%	7.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	N/A	2,510
First year students are required to live on campus?	N/A	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Pennsylvania Maryland New Jersey Delaware Florida	New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Mississippi Connecticut

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Liberal Arts Computer and Information Science Education	Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Social Sciences Physical Science Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	15.5%	87.9%
Dropout rate	50.2%	2.5%
Transferred out	19.4%	9.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $62,046 Year 2: $59,527 Year 3: $62,466 Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $53,044 Year 2: $55,061 Year 3: $57,893 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $50,129 Year 2: $53,839 Year 3: $54,010 Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $48,142 Year 2: $49,423 Year 3: $53,711 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $43,359 Year 2: $44,102 Year 3: $48,157 Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $37,733 Year 2: $40,512 Year 3: $45,275 Electrical and Power Transmission Installers (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $39,729 Year 3: $42,315 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $34,075 Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: $42,066 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $32,314 Year 2: $32,747 Year 3: $39,836 Legal Support Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $31,324 Year 2: $34,348 Year 3: $38,084	Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,532 Year 2: $68,379 Year 3: $80,306 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,033 Year 2: $65,238 Year 3: $78,021 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $77,247 Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: $76,714 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,784 Year 2: $65,486 Year 3: $76,536 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,714 Year 2: $72,403 Year 3: $75,320 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,927 Year 2: $58,943 Year 3: $72,455 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,229 Year 2: $48,198 Year 3: $60,266 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,408 Year 2: $44,468 Year 3: $57,092 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,680 Year 2: $32,391 Year 3: $50,156 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,170 Year 3: $48,201

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