Palo Alto vs San Antonio College

Palo Alto College and San Antonio College, both esteemed institutions in the heart of Texas, offer diverse educational opportunities to students seeking higher learning. While sharing a commitment to academic excellence, these colleges exhibit distinct characteristics that cater to different student aspirations. Palo Alto College boasts a higher acceptance rate, welcoming a broader range of students, while San Antonio College maintains a slightly more selective admissions process. In terms of academic offerings, Palo Alto College excels in fields such as Business, Health Professions, and Public Safety, whereas San Antonio College shines in programs like Liberal Arts, Education, and Engineering. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further distinctions between these two colleges, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and additional program offerings, to make an informed decision that aligns with your unique academic goals and preferences.

	Palo Alto College	San Antonio College
Overview
Location	San Antonio, Texas	San Antonio, Texas
Campus setting	City: 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	60.0%	58.0%
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: $21,212 Out of state: $28,742	In state: $21,212 Out of state: $28,742
Average net price	$4,951	$6,041
Tuition	In state: $6,450 Out of state: $13,980	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)	89.0% Average amount $4,868	81.0% Average amount $4,732
Students receiving federal student loan	1.0% Average amount $6,413	5.0% Average amount $5,539
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $0	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	10,559 Men 38.1% Women 61.9%	17,677 Men 36.6% Women 63.4%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	1.1%	2.1%
International students	0.0%	0.3%
Campus local/setting	City: 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	Texas Washington Alaska Colorado Missouri	Texas Missouri California Illinois Alaska

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Business Education Computer and Information Science Agriculture	Liberal Arts Health Professions Law Enforcement and Firefighting Business Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	32:1	25:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	33.0%	25.5%
Dropout rate	44.5%	40.4%
Transferred out	12.2%	18.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $57,882 Year 2: $57,770 Year 3: $64,435 Fire Protection (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $47,064 Fire Protection (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,563 Year 3: $45,456 Legal Support Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,119 Year 3: $35,401 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $28,573 Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: $33,578 Biology, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $22,185 Year 2: $21,508 Year 3: $30,583 Design and Applied Arts (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $17,961 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: $28,523 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $27,893 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $27,452 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $25,276 Year 2: $20,771 Year 3: $25,865 Accounting and Related Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,459 Year 3: N/A

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