Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) vs The Pennsylvania State University (PSU)

Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) and The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) are two distinct institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania, each catering to different student needs and aspirations. HACC, a community college, offers a wide range of associate degrees and certificate programs, while Penn State, a research university, provides a comprehensive selection of undergraduate and graduate degrees. With varying acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates, the choice between these two institutions hinges on individual academic goals and preferences. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover which institution aligns best with your educational aspirations and personal circumstances.

	Harrisburg Area Community College	The Pennsylvania State University
Overview
Location	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania	University Park, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Small
College type	2 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	56.0%	87.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	Open Admission	92.3%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	N/A	1140 - 1360
ACT range	N/A	25 - 31
Students submitting SAT score		32.0%
Students submitting ACT score		6.0%
Total number of applicants		96,686
Total number of admissions given out		89,207
Admitted students who chose to enroll		16,049
Yield rate		18.0%
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	In state: $23,659 Out of state: $25,182	In state: $38,270 Out of state: $55,848
Average net price	$12,147	$24,012
Tuition	In state: $6,795 Out of state: $8,168	In state: $18,368 Out of state: $35,946
Room & board		Room/dormitory: $7,360 Meal plan: $5,618
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	95.0% Average amount $4,168	51.0% Average amount $9,884
Students receiving federal student loan	45.0% Average amount $4,826	49.0% Average amount $5,305
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $7,267	13.0% Average amount $19,837

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	14,023 Men 32.8% Women 67.2%	73,476 Men 53.7% Women 46.3%
Graduate students	N/A	15,438 Men 51.7% Women 48.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	0.8%	34.1%
International students	1.6%	10.5%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	N/A	20,547
First year students are required to live on campus?	N/A	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Pennsylvania Maryland New Jersey Delaware Florida	Pennsylvania New Jersey New York Maryland Virginia

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Liberal Arts Computer and Information Science Education	Business Engineering Computer and Information Science Health Professions Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	15.5%	72.3%
Dropout rate	50.2%	25.7%
Transferred out	19.4%	N/A
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	Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $109,295 Year 2: $120,549 Year 3: $125,527 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,798 Year 2: $95,930 Year 3: $120,289 Computer Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,190 Year 2: $97,959 Year 3: $113,544 Mining and Mineral Engineering (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $98,403 Year 3: $108,754 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,372 Year 2: $100,455 Year 3: $107,874 Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,574 Year 2: $99,291 Year 3: $104,370 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,304 Year 2: $97,855 Year 3: $104,056 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,512 Year 2: $94,864 Year 3: $103,461 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $92,632 Year 3: $98,201 Nuclear Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $89,155 Year 3: $94,780

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