Phoenix College vs Palo Alto

Phoenix College and Palo Alto College, both esteemed community colleges in their respective states of Arizona and Texas, offer diverse educational opportunities to students seeking higher education. While they share the common goal of providing accessible and affordable education, they differ in several key aspects. Phoenix College boasts a higher acceptance rate, welcoming a broader range of students, while Palo Alto College maintains a more selective admissions process. In terms of academic offerings, Phoenix College excels in programs like Business, Health Professions, and Public Safety, whereas Palo Alto College specializes in fields such as Engineering, Computer Science, and Education. Furthermore, the student body demographics vary, with Phoenix College having a larger Hispanic population and Palo Alto College having a higher percentage of international students. As for graduation rates, Palo Alto College outperforms Phoenix College, indicating a stronger focus on student success and completion. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions between these two institutions and make an informed decision about which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and goals.

	Palo Alto College	Phoenix College
Overview
Location	San Antonio, Texas	Phoenix, Arizona
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%	64.0%
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: $22,506 Out of state: $28,290
Average net price	$4,951	$10,461
Tuition	In state: $6,450 Out of state: $13,980	In state: $2,040 Out of state: $7,824
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	83.0% Average amount $5,842
Students receiving federal student loan	1.0% Average amount $6,413	6.0% Average amount $3,750
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $0	0.0% Average amount $2,129

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	10,559 Men 38.1% Women 61.9%	9,050 Men 35.2% Women 64.8%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	1.1%	2.0%
International students	0.0%	0.8%
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	Arizona California Colorado Hawaii Minnesota

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Business Education Computer and Information Science Agriculture	Visual & Performing Arts Health Professions Liberal Arts Business Law Enforcement and Firefighting
Students to faculty ratio	32:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	33.0%	13.4%
Dropout rate	44.5%	49.4%
Transferred out	12.2%	21.9%
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: $58,096 Year 2: $57,811 Year 3: $61,143 Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $46,427 Year 2: $49,436 Year 3: $56,456 Legal Support Services (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $40,682 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $51,908 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $45,068 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $29,251 Year 2: $39,009 Year 3: $41,253 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $36,668 Year 3: $39,073 Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $40,322 Year 2: $32,467 Year 3: $36,827 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $33,559 Year 2: $28,019 Year 3: $34,587 Legal Support Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $36,629 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $31,220 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $30,473 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $30,088

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