Phoenix College vs Rio Salado

Phoenix College and Rio Salado College, both esteemed community colleges in Arizona, offer diverse educational opportunities to students seeking higher education. While they share a commitment to academic excellence and student success, they also possess distinct characteristics that cater to different needs and preferences. Phoenix College boasts a higher acceptance rate, welcoming a broader range of students, while Rio Salado College stands out with its flexible online learning options, making it an ideal choice for those seeking a more self-paced and remote learning experience. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further differences, including popular majors, student body demographics, graduation rates, and more, to determine which institution best aligns with your academic aspirations and learning style.

	Phoenix College	Rio Salado College
Overview
Location	Phoenix, Arizona	Tempe, Arizona
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Midsize
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	64.0%	37.0%
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: $22,506 Out of state: $28,290	In state: $14,542 Out of state: $20,326
Average net price	$10,461	$9,426
Tuition	In state: $2,040 Out of state: $7,824	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)	83.0% Average amount $5,842	71.0% Average amount $5,379
Students receiving federal student loan	6.0% Average amount $3,750	26.0% Average amount $4,710
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $2,129	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,050 Men 35.2% Women 64.8%	15,682 Men 40.6% Women 59.4%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	2.0%	12.0%
International students	0.8%	0.2%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Midsize
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	Arizona California Colorado Hawaii Minnesota	Arizona California Texas Louisiana Alabama

Academics
Popular study areas	Visual & Performing Arts Health Professions Liberal Arts Business Law Enforcement and Firefighting	Law Enforcement and Firefighting Business Liberal Arts Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	25:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	13.4%	8.5%
Dropout rate	49.4%	64.9%
Transferred out	21.9%	20.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Criminal Justice and Corrections (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $42,986 Year 2: $41,884 Year 3: $44,530 Business Operations Support and Assistant Services (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $42,922 Year 2: $34,348 Year 3: $39,074 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $37,704 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: $34,090 Legal Support Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,047 Year 3: $28,264 Data Processing (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,938 Year 3: N/A Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: N/A

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

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