Pearl River Community College vs Meridian CC

Pearl River Community College and Meridian Community College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning in Mississippi, offer unique educational experiences tailored to diverse student aspirations. Pearl River boasts an acceptance rate of 100%, welcoming all qualified applicants with open arms, while Meridian maintains a slightly more selective approach with an acceptance rate of 98%. In terms of student demographics, Pearl River's student body is predominantly female (58%), while Meridian's is evenly balanced between genders. Both colleges offer a wide range of academic programs, with popular majors including Business, Education, and Nursing. However, Meridian distinguishes itself with a higher graduation rate of 30%, compared to Pearl River's 25%. To help you make an informed decision about your educational journey, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table below, highlighting key differences between these two exceptional community colleges. Dive in and discover which institution best aligns with your academic goals and personal preferences.

	Meridian Community College	Pearl River Community College
Overview
Location	Meridian, Mississippi	Poplarville, Mississippi
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Rural: Remote
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	65.0%	61.0%
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: $16,541 Out of state: $18,395	In state: $16,764 Out of state: $17,764
Average net price	$6,824	$5,358
Tuition	In state: $3,320 Out of state: $5,174	In state: $3,250 Out of state: $4,250
Room & board	$5,480	$4,700
Available payment plans		Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	91.0% Average amount $5,311	88.0% Average amount $6,172
Students receiving federal student loan	8.0% Average amount $3,436	29.0% Average amount $4,677
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $0	0.0% Average amount $13,450

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,718 Men 28.8% Women 71.2%	4,986 Men 35.2% Women 64.8%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	7.7%	N/A
International students	N/A	0.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Rural: Remote
Dormitory capacity	368	815
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Mississippi Alabama Louisiana Tennessee Georgia	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Liberal Arts Business Transportation and Logistics Culinary and Personal Services	Liberal Arts Health Professions Engineering Technologies Business Precision Production
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	20:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	32.7%	38.7%
Dropout rate	58.6%	40.0%
Transferred out	0.1%	14.8%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $53,278 Year 2: $51,224 Year 3: $53,635 Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $37,684 Year 2: $44,384 Year 3: $41,650 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $36,157 Year 2: $31,848 Year 3: $31,065 Precision Metal Working (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $30,266 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $27,051 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $29,003 Year 2: $19,957 Year 3: $26,019 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $23,430 Year 2: $17,794 Year 3: $24,515 Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $15,465 Year 2: $15,048 Year 3: $16,101 Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: N/A Ground Transportation (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $33,096 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Health and Medical Administrative Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $28,220 Year 2: $28,019 Year 3: N/A	Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $43,508 Year 2: $50,270 Year 3: $61,281 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $55,857 Year 2: $51,951 Year 3: $52,330 Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $45,937 Year 2: $45,618 Year 3: $44,648 Precision Metal Working (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $21,216 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $39,130 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $33,694 Year 2: $33,281 Year 3: $37,433 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $29,216 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $36,765 Precision Metal Working (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $34,614 Year 2: $36,848 Year 3: $27,107 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $18,972 Year 2: $20,045 Year 3: $23,625 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $20,830 Year 2: $19,455 Year 3: $16,447 Marketing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $15,949

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