Northwest-Shoals Community College vs Central Alabama Community College

Northwest-Shoals Community College and Central Alabama Community College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer diverse educational opportunities to students in Alabama. While they share a commitment to academic excellence, they also possess unique characteristics that set them apart. Northwest-Shoals boasts a higher acceptance rate, welcoming a broader range of students, while Central Alabama maintains a slightly smaller student body, fostering a more intimate learning environment. Both colleges offer a variety of popular majors, including nursing, business, and education, but Central Alabama additionally emphasizes STEM fields, providing specialized programs in engineering and computer science. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details about these institutions, including graduation rates, student demographics, and additional program offerings, to determine which college best aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Central Alabama Community College	Northwest-Shoals Community College
Overview
Location	Alexander City, Alabama	Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Campus setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	64.0%	65.0%
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: $20,528 Out of state: $24,218	In state: $16,301 Out of state: $19,991
Average net price	$8,885	$3,493
Tuition	In state: $3,690 Out of state: $7,380	In state: $3,690 Out of state: $7,380
Room & board
Available payment plans		Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	88.0% Average amount $5,626	95.0% Average amount $5,952
Students receiving federal student loan	26.0% Average amount $3,676	24.0% Average amount $2,779
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $0	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,578 Men 40.9% Women 59.1%	3,371 Men 43.1% Women 56.9%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	2.1%	1.5%
International students	0.4%	0.6%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
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	Alabama Georgia Connecticut Louisiana Oklahoma	Alabama Tennessee Illinois

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Health Professions Precision Production Business Multidisciplinary Studies	Liberal Arts Precision Production Health Professions Construction Trades Engineering Technologies
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	21.9%	26.0%
Dropout rate	50.5%	39.1%
Transferred out	22.5%	21.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $48,360 Year 2: $50,677 Year 3: $54,686 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $19,701 Year 2: $15,817 Year 3: $22,993	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $44,933 Year 2: $43,922 Year 3: $43,540 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $19,388 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $21,522 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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