Kirkwood vs Southwestern Community College (SWCC)

Kirkwood Community College and Southwestern Community College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences tailored to diverse student aspirations. Kirkwood, with an acceptance rate of 100%, welcomes students from all backgrounds, while Southwestern's selective admissions process results in a 75% acceptance rate. Kirkwood's student body is predominantly female (58%), while Southwestern boasts a more balanced gender distribution (51% female, 49% male). Both colleges offer a wide range of programs, with Kirkwood excelling in Health Professions and Related Programs, and Southwestern specializing in Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services. With graduation rates of 24% and 32% respectively, these colleges provide opportunities for students to achieve their academic goals. Explore the comprehensive comparison table to discover more distinctions between these two exceptional community colleges and make an informed decision about your educational journey.

	Kirkwood Community College	Southwestern Community College
Overview
Location	Cedar Rapids, Iowa	Creston, Iowa
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Town: Remote
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	65.0%	65.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	Open Admission	Open Admission
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
Total number of admissions given out
Admitted students who chose to enroll
Yield rate
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	Not required	Not required
High school GPA	N/A	N/A
Recommendation letters	N/A	N/A
High school transcript	N/A	N/A
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	N/A	N/A

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $16,356 Out of state: $18,120	In state: $19,632 Out of state: $19,856
Average net price	$8,740	$9,766
Tuition	In state: $5,208 Out of state: $6,972	In state: $6,170 Out of state: $6,394
Room & board		$7,660
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	68.0% Average amount $5,935	76.0% Average amount $5,929
Students receiving federal student loan	41.0% Average amount $4,429	48.0% Average amount $4,837
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $6,664	5.0% Average amount $9,606

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	12,604 Men 44.7% Women 55.3%	1,542 Men 41.9% Women 58.1%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	5.3%	10.2%
International students	1.4%	1.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	N/A	223
First year students are required to live on campus?	N/A	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Iowa Illinois Minnesota Wisconsin California	Iowa Missouri Nebraska Puerto Rico Illinois

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Health Professions Business Automotive Technology Engineering Technologies	Liberal Arts Health Professions Automotive Technology Construction Trades Precision Production
Students to faculty ratio	18:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	36.6%	47.3%
Dropout rate	45.1%	32.7%
Transferred out	8.5%	19.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Electromechanical Instrumentation and Maintenance Technologies/Technicians (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $61,274 Year 2: $48,041 Year 3: $57,912 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $52,333 Year 2: $51,054 Year 3: $52,485 Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $45,500 Year 3: $50,571 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $37,801 Year 2: $44,356 Year 3: $48,128 Agricultural Mechanization (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $42,853 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: $44,281 Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR) (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $34,704 Year 3: $43,495 Computer Programming (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $42,123 Year 3: $43,418 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $40,829 Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $43,167 Precision Metal Working (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $39,240 Year 2: $41,342 Year 3: $43,050 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $41,258 Year 2: $43,319 Year 3: $42,513	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $51,369 Year 2: $46,833 Year 3: $48,454 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $22,559 Year 2: $20,824 Year 3: $30,915 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $30,290 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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