Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) vs Cuesta

Los Angeles Valley College and Cuesta College, both esteemed community colleges in California, offer diverse educational opportunities to students seeking higher education. While they share a commitment to academic excellence, these institutions differ in several key aspects. Los Angeles Valley College boasts a higher acceptance rate, welcoming a broader range of students, while Cuesta College maintains a slightly more selective admissions process. In terms of academic offerings, Los Angeles Valley College excels in liberal arts and sciences, while Cuesta College specializes in career-oriented programs, including nursing, agriculture, and culinary arts. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further distinctions between these two colleges, encompassing acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation outcomes, to help you make an informed decision about your educational journey.

	Cuesta College	Los Angeles Valley College
Overview
Location	San Luis Obispo, California	Valley Glen, California
Campus setting	Suburb: Small	City: Large
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	66.0%	73.0%
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: $25,602 Out of state: $32,966	In state: $24,377 Out of state: $32,151
Average net price	$14,586	$11,833
Tuition	In state: $1,288 Out of state: $8,652	In state: $1,196 Out of state: $8,970
Room & board
Available payment plans

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	77.0% Average amount $4,087	79.0% Average amount $6,104
Students receiving federal student loan	2.0% Average amount $6,557	1.0% Average amount $6,879
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $0	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,661 Men 47.9% Women 52.1%	14,018 Men 42.2% Women 57.8%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	4.0%	1.8%
International students	0.2%	0.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	N/A	N/A
First year students are required to live on campus?	N/A	N/A
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Oregon Connecticut Illinois Kansas	California

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Business Health Professions Education Family and Consumer Sciences	Liberal Arts Business Family and Consumer Sciences Social Sciences Communication and Journalism
Students to faculty ratio	25:1	21:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	43.2%	32.2%
Dropout rate	39.6%	43.2%
Transferred out	8.5%	8.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $79,884 Year 3: $85,944 Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $64,744 Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: $61,763 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $24,267 Year 3: $44,025 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $31,966 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $70,832 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $68,078 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $60,839 Year 3: $67,624 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $30,802 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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