Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) vs Palomar

Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) and Palomar College (PC) stand out as two prominent community colleges in California, each offering unique educational opportunities. SBCC boasts a higher acceptance rate of 100% compared to PC's 99%, making it a more accessible option for prospective students. While both colleges offer a diverse range of programs, SBCC excels in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, while PC specializes in STEM fields and healthcare. SBCC's student body is slightly larger and more diverse, with a higher percentage of female students and a greater representation of ethnicities. In terms of success outcomes, PC has a slightly higher graduation rate of 31% compared to SBCC's 29%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions between these two esteemed institutions and make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Palomar College	Santa Barbara City College
Overview
Location	San Marcos, California	Santa Barbara, California
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: Small
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	66.0%	69.0%
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: $29,408 Out of state: $38,004	In state: $24,371 Out of state: $32,051
Average net price	$6,659	$14,000
Tuition	In state: $1,288 Out of state: $9,884	In state: $1,104 Out of state: $8,472
Room & board
Available payment plans		Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	79.0% Average amount $4,544	46.0% Average amount $4,721
Students receiving federal student loan	0.0% Average amount $2,598	4.0% Average amount $5,218
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $0	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	17,566 Men 51.0% Women 49.0%	12,746 Men 43.0% Women 57.0%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	6.7%	11.0%
International students	0.6%	3.2%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	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	California	California

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Social Sciences Health Professions Business Law Enforcement and Firefighting	Liberal Arts Multidisciplinary Studies Social Sciences Health Professions Business
Students to faculty ratio	22:1	34:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	29.1%	44.7%
Dropout rate	46.1%	35.1%
Transferred out	10.8%	13.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $77,544 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $68,079 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $44,438 Social Sciences, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $24,035 Year 3: $29,028 Electrical and Power Transmission Installers (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $84,691 Year 3: N/A	Health and Medical Administrative Services (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $40,140 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: N/A Health and Medical Administrative Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $39,332 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $64,990 Year 3: N/A Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $80,727 Year 2: $79,081 Year 3: N/A

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