Mesa Community College vs Rio Salado

Mesa Community College and Rio Salado College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning in Arizona, offer diverse educational opportunities to students seeking academic excellence. Mesa Community College boasts an acceptance rate of 100%, welcoming students from all backgrounds to pursue their academic aspirations. Rio Salado College, on the other hand, maintains a slightly more selective admissions policy with an acceptance rate of 98%. While Mesa Community College excels in programs like Liberal Arts and Humanities, Rio Salado College shines in fields such as Business, Management, and Marketing. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further distinctions between these two exceptional colleges, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and additional program offerings, to make an informed decision that aligns with your unique educational goals and aspirations.

	Mesa Community College	Rio Salado College
Overview
Location	Mesa, Arizona	Tempe, Arizona
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Midsize
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	64.0%	37.0%
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: $22,506 Out of state: $28,290	In state: $14,542 Out of state: $20,326
Average net price	$11,733	$9,426
Tuition	In state: $2,040 Out of state: $7,824	In state: $2,040 Out of state: $7,824
Room & board
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	75.0% Average amount $4,595	71.0% Average amount $5,379
Students receiving federal student loan	10.0% Average amount $3,307	26.0% Average amount $4,710
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $7,360	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	16,494 Men 44.8% Women 55.2%	15,682 Men 40.6% Women 59.4%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	3.7%	12.0%
International students	1.2%	0.2%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Midsize
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	Arizona California Nevada Colorado Texas	Arizona California Texas Louisiana Alabama

Academics
Popular study areas	Visual & Performing Arts Liberal Arts Health Professions Business Multidisciplinary Studies	Law Enforcement and Firefighting Business Liberal Arts Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	25:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	14.7%	8.5%
Dropout rate	42.5%	64.9%
Transferred out	24.8%	20.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $58,376 Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $61,338 Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $46,774 Year 2: $44,170 Year 3: $55,456 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $34,658 Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: $49,097 Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $39,637 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,391 Year 3: $37,226 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $32,707 Year 2: $33,565 Year 3: $37,094 Funeral Service and Mortuary Science (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,305 Year 3: $36,892 Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $32,575 Fine and Studio Arts (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $18,498 Year 3: $32,067 Design and Applied Arts (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $19,766	Criminal Justice and Corrections (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $42,986 Year 2: $41,884 Year 3: $44,530 Business Operations Support and Assistant Services (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $42,922 Year 2: $34,348 Year 3: $39,074 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $37,704 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: $34,090 Legal Support Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,047 Year 3: $28,264 Data Processing (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,938 Year 3: N/A Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: N/A

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Mesa Community College vs Rio Salado

Mesa Community College

Rio Salado College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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