Mountain Empire Community College (MECC) vs Southside Virginia Community College

Mountain Empire Community College (MECC) and Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC) stand out as two prominent community colleges in Virginia, each offering unique educational opportunities. While both institutions share a commitment to providing accessible and affordable higher education, they differ in several key aspects. MECC boasts a higher acceptance rate, making it a more accessible option for students seeking admission. In contrast, SVCC has a slightly lower acceptance rate, indicating a more selective admissions process. Furthermore, the two colleges vary in their popular majors, with MECC excelling in programs like Business Administration and Management, while SVCC specializes in fields such as Health Professions and Related Programs. Additionally, the student body demographics and graduation rates differ between the two institutions, creating distinct learning environments. Explore the comprehensive comparison table provided on this page to delve deeper into these differences and discover which college best aligns with your academic goals and preferences.

	Mountain Empire Community College	Southside Virginia Community College
Overview
Location	Big Stone Gap, Virginia	Alberta, Virginia
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Rural: Distant
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	68.0%	56.0%
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: $14,385 Out of state: $20,388	In state: $18,562 Out of state: $24,565
Average net price	$8,803	$6,713
Tuition	In state: $4,620 Out of state: $9,918	In state: $4,620 Out of state: $9,918
Room & board
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $5,590	86.0% Average amount $5,431
Students receiving federal student loan	0.0% Average amount $0
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $3,006

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,079 Men 37.3% Women 62.7%	2,961 Men 32.1% Women 67.9%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	1.0%	1.5%
International students	0.1%	0.4%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Rural: Distant
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	Virginia Tennessee	Virginia North Carolina South Carolina

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Liberal Arts Engineering Technologies Law Enforcement and Firefighting Construction Trades	Liberal Arts Health Professions Engineering Technologies Business Automotive Technology
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	24:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	44.1%	41.9%
Dropout rate	45.6%	40.1%
Transferred out	3.7%	7.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $49,999 Year 2: $50,161 Year 3: $52,521 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $39,541 Year 2: $36,166 Year 3: $41,849 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: $30,684 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $15,964 Year 3: $21,826 Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $18,788 Year 2: $19,508 Year 3: $21,200 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $31,719 Year 2: $35,600 Year 3: N/A Criminal Justice and Corrections (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $30,449 Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: N/A Business Operations Support and Assistant Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $24,047 Year 2: $20,824 Year 3: N/A	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $53,375 Year 2: $50,105 Year 3: $64,159 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $32,092 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $34,957 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $32,190 Year 2: $27,823 Year 3: $32,247 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,739 Year 3: $28,702 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $24,667 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $24,089 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $18,392 Year 2: $16,598 Year 3: $23,052 Business Operations Support and Assistant Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $25,839 Year 2: $19,358 Year 3: $22,127 Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $20,479 Year 2: $20,368 Year 3: $22,023 Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $25,695 Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $19,732 Ground Transportation (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: N/A

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Mountain Empire Community College (MECC) vs Southside Virginia Community College

Mountain Empire Community College

Southside Virginia Community College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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