University of Central Arkansas (UCA) vs Ouachita Baptist University

Nestled in the heart of Arkansas, University of Central Arkansas (UCA) and Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) stand as two distinct beacons of higher education. UCA, a public university, boasts an acceptance rate of 86%, welcoming a diverse student body of over 10,000 undergraduates. In contrast, OBU, a private Christian university, maintains a more selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 68%, fostering a close-knit community of around 1,500 undergraduates. While both institutions offer a wide range of academic programs, UCA excels in fields like nursing, business, and education, while OBU shines in areas such as music, theology, and social work. With UCA's higher graduation rate of 58% compared to OBU's 52%, both universities prioritize student success and provide ample resources to help students thrive. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two esteemed institutions and

	Ouachita Baptist University	University of Central Arkansas
Overview
Location	Arkadelphia, Arkansas	Conway, Arkansas
Campus setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	84.0%	71.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation	Baptist

Admission
Acceptance rate	73.8%	92.4%
Application fees	$40	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $45
SAT range	N/A	980 - 1160
ACT range	N/A	19 - 26
Students submitting SAT score		3.0%
Students submitting ACT score		94.0%
Total number of applicants	2,610	6,057
Total number of admissions given out	1,925	5,595
Admitted students who chose to enroll	485	1,854
Yield rate	25.2%	33.1%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$44,910	In state: $25,219 Out of state: $32,089
Average net price	$20,074	$14,042
Tuition	$29,480	In state: $6,870 Out of state: $13,740
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,370 Meal plan: $4,140	Room/dormitory: $4,326 Meal plan: $3,570
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $21,394	92.0% Average amount $7,693
Students receiving federal student loan	70.0% Average amount $5,357	51.0% Average amount $5,106
Students taking out private loans	8.0% Average amount $13,978	5.0% Average amount $10,426

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,716 Men 43.5% Women 56.5%	8,244 Men 39.0% Women 61.0%
Graduate students	48 Men 2.1% Women 97.9%	1,861 Men 26.6% Women 73.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	38.8%	7.9%
International students	1.9%	3.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	1,602	3,675
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Arkansas Texas Louisiana Oklahoma Tennessee	Arkansas Texas Oklahoma Tennessee Alabama

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Education Health Professions Visual & Performing Arts Philosophy and Religious Studies	Health Professions Education Business Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	13:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	66.8%	49.4%
Dropout rate	33.0%	19.1%
Transferred out	N/A	29.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,579 Year 2: $44,776 Year 3: $51,108 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,699 Year 2: $36,726 Year 3: $42,665 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,047 Year 2: $37,748 Year 3: $38,112 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,498 Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: $37,714 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,967 Year 3: $31,315 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $27,439 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $23,351 Year 3: N/A Religion/Religious Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,508 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,174 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: N/A	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,284 Year 2: $92,358 Year 3: $96,070 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $72,491 Year 2: $70,736 Year 3: $76,640 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,696 Year 2: $67,548 Year 3: $65,753 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,174 Year 2: $58,842 Year 3: $59,396 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,787 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $57,030 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,827 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $55,240 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,080 Year 2: $45,305 Year 3: $52,677 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,462 Year 2: $47,729 Year 3: $52,542 Library Science, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,140 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $49,838 Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $40,755 Year 2: $48,432 Year 3: $49,837

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University of Central Arkansas (UCA) vs Ouachita Baptist University

Ouachita Baptist University

University of Central Arkansas

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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