Lees-McRae College vs Berea College

Lees-McRae College and Berea College, both located in the scenic Appalachian Mountains, offer distinct educational experiences. Lees-McRae, a private institution in Banner Elk, North Carolina, boasts a higher acceptance rate (75%) compared to Berea's selective admissions (34%). While Berea's student body is more diverse, with 43% identifying as minorities, Lees-McRae's student population is predominantly White (87%). Both colleges excel in certain academic areas; Lees-McRae is known for its strong programs in business and exercise science, while Berea's strengths lie in social sciences and humanities. With graduation rates of 58% and 56% respectively, both institutions are committed to student success. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these colleges' unique offerings and make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Berea College	Lees-McRae College
Overview
Location	Berea, Kentucky	Banner Elk, North Carolina
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Rural: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	84.0%	67.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation		Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	33.0%	59.2%
Application fees		$25
SAT range	1118 - 1268	1040 - 1240
ACT range	23 - 28	20 - 26
Students submitting SAT score	8.0%	17.0%
Students submitting ACT score	46.0%	26.0%
Total number of applicants	1,736	1,777
Total number of admissions given out	573	1,052
Admitted students who chose to enroll	338	247
Yield rate	59.0%	23.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$54,396	$43,040
Average net price	$3,354	$25,894
Tuition	$42,900	$26,490
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $3,886 Meal plan: $3,598	Room/dormitory: $5,400 Meal plan: $6,150
Available payment plans		Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $52,253	100.0% Average amount $18,350
Students receiving federal student loan	4.0% Average amount $3,016	75.0% Average amount $6,664
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $758	6.0% Average amount $13,196

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,468 Men 40.7% Women 59.3%	872 Men 34.7% Women 65.3%
Graduate students	N/A	1 Men 0.0% Women 100.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	47.5%
International students	7.8%	3.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Rural: Distant
Dormitory capacity	1,653	680
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Tennessee Alabama Georgia Ohio	North Carolina South Carolina Florida Virginia Georgia

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Social Sciences Visual & Performing Arts Biological and Biomedical Sciences Family and Consumer Sciences	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Health Professions Education Public Administration and Social Service Business
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	11:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	65.6%	40.4%
Dropout rate	13.7%	18.2%
Transferred out	19.8%	41.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,226 Year 2: $50,856 Year 3: $57,402 Engineering Technology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,355 Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: $42,731 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,950 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $42,254 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,670 Year 2: $27,590 Year 3: $36,495 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,658 Year 3: $31,668 Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $21,939 Year 2: $19,455 Year 3: $28,681 Agriculture, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $21,131 Year 2: $18,315 Year 3: $26,792 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $18,315 Year 3: $24,639 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $17,023 Year 2: $20,687 Year 3: $24,324 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $24,035 Year 3: N/A	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,914 Year 2: $63,935 Year 3: $66,973 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,268 Year 2: $44,649 Year 3: $49,738 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,351 Year 2: $34,393 Year 3: $36,519 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,325 Year 2: $28,816 Year 3: $36,175 Zoology/Animal Biology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $18,174 Year 2: $20,596 Year 3: $25,820 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,052 Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,560 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $17,244 Year 2: $23,456 Year 3: N/A Human Services, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,980 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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