Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) vs Palo Alto

Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) and Palo Alto College (PAC) stand as two distinct institutions of higher learning, each catering to unique student populations and academic pursuits. NOVA, located in the heart of Northern Virginia, boasts an acceptance rate of 100%, welcoming students from diverse backgrounds and aspirations. PAC, nestled in San Antonio, Texas, maintains a slightly more selective admissions process, with an acceptance rate of 98%. While NOVA's student body predominantly comprises part-time learners, PAC caters to a larger proportion of full-time students. Both colleges offer a wide range of programs, with NOVA excelling in liberal arts and sciences, and PAC specializing in technical and vocational fields. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details regarding acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates, empowering you to make an informed decision that aligns with your academic goals and personal preferences.

	Northern Virginia Community College	Palo Alto College
Overview
Location	Annandale, Virginia	San Antonio, Texas
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: Large
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	69.0%	60.0%
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: $23,961 Out of state: $30,044	In state: $21,212 Out of state: $28,742
Average net price	$9,627	$4,951
Tuition	In state: $5,412 Out of state: $10,790	In state: $6,450 Out of state: $13,980
Room & board
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	53.0% Average amount $6,083	89.0% Average amount $4,868
Students receiving federal student loan	18.0% Average amount $4,754	1.0% Average amount $6,413
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $7,370	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	49,560 Men 46.7% Women 53.3%	10,559 Men 38.1% Women 61.9%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	1.5%	1.1%
International students	2.5%	0.0%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	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	Virginia Maryland District of Columbia West Virginia North Carolina	Texas Washington Alaska Colorado Missouri

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Business Computer and Information Science Social Sciences Health Professions	Liberal Arts Business Education Computer and Information Science Agriculture
Students to faculty ratio	28:1	32:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	32.9%	33.0%
Dropout rate	36.7%	44.5%
Transferred out	15.4%	12.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $74,638 Year 2: $69,757 Year 3: $77,964 Computer Science (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $39,274 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $69,522 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $58,587 Year 2: $57,657 Year 3: $62,620 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $61,136 Year 2: $60,903 Year 3: $61,377 Accounting and Related Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $53,059 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $33,646 Year 2: $33,382 Year 3: $50,541 Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR) (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $61,129 Year 2: $38,829 Year 3: $48,517 Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $41,037 Year 2: $54,778 Year 3: $45,252 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $29,169 Year 2: $29,350 Year 3: $42,383 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $34,656 Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: $41,957	Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $32,158 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $18,703 Year 2: $24,035 Year 3: $32,109 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $22,510 Year 2: $11,851 Year 3: $31,972 Health/Medical Preparatory Programs (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $22,163 Year 2: $26,933 Year 3: $29,307 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $27,013 Year 2: $26,933 Year 3: $28,961 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $27,432 Year 2: $18,087 Year 3: $26,279 Psychology, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $16,169 Year 3: $21,146 Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,119 Year 3: N/A

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Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) vs Palo Alto

Northern Virginia Community College

Palo Alto College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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