University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) vs West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCUPA)

When it comes to higher education, University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) and West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCU) stand out as two distinct institutions with unique offerings. UMGC, a public online university, boasts an open admissions policy, making it accessible to a wide range of students. In contrast, WCU, a public liberal arts university, has a more selective admissions process, with an acceptance rate of 78%. While both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate and graduate programs, UMGC excels in online learning, with over 90% of its students enrolled in online courses, while WCU primarily offers on-campus instruction. Additionally, UMGC has a larger student body, with over 90,000 students, compared to WCU's 17,000 students. To help you make an informed decision about your educational journey, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into the key differences between these two universities,

	University of Maryland Global Campus	West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Overview
Location	Adelphi, Maryland	West Chester, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	52.0%	85.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	Open Admission	89.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $45 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	1070 - 1250
ACT range	N/A	23 - 29
Students submitting SAT score		27.0%
Students submitting ACT score		1.0%
Total number of applicants		14,020
Total number of admissions given out		12,528
Admitted students who chose to enroll		2,628
Yield rate		21.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)		N/A
High school GPA	N/A	Not required
Recommendation letters	N/A	Not required
High school transcript	N/A	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	N/A	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $29,702 Out of state: $34,334	In state: $28,419 Out of state: $40,243
Average net price	$16,228	$14,133
Tuition	In state: $7,344 Out of state: $11,976	In state: $7,716 Out of state: $19,290
Room & board		Room/dormitory: $5,794 Meal plan: $3,700
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	39.0% Average amount $5,824	100.0% Average amount $4,607
Students receiving federal student loan	33.0% Average amount $5,694	51.0% Average amount $5,238
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $15,445	11.0% Average amount $11,835

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	45,100 Men 54.4% Women 45.6%	14,471 Men 40.0% Women 60.0%
Graduate students	10,223 Men 45.5% Women 54.5%	3,143 Men 31.7% Women 68.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	61.8%	11.4%
International students	2.0%	0.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	N/A	5,128
First year students are required to live on campus?	N/A	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Maryland California New York District of Columbia Virginia	Pennsylvania New Jersey Delaware Maryland New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Liberal Arts Computer and Information Science Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Health Professions Business Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Public Administration and Social Service
Students to faculty ratio	18:1	20:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	21.4%	72.8%
Dropout rate	39.3%	7.6%
Transferred out	35.3%	18.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business/Commerce, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $103,078 Year 3: $107,564 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $87,350 Year 2: $89,921 Year 3: $97,293 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $83,768 Year 3: $94,669 Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $81,658 Year 2: $87,025 Year 3: $94,423 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $81,077 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $88,008 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $89,702 Year 2: $87,068 Year 3: $87,604 Biotechnology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,827 Year 2: $75,921 Year 3: $82,324 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,028 Year 2: $66,302 Year 3: $78,894 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,590 Year 2: $72,006 Year 3: $77,920 International Business (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,389 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $77,500	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,514 Year 2: $91,211 Year 3: $102,513 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,034 Year 2: $70,863 Year 3: $83,078 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,346 Year 2: $66,653 Year 3: $74,076 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,184 Year 2: $59,253 Year 3: $67,374 Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,978 Year 2: $57,589 Year 3: $65,537 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,367 Year 2: $53,508 Year 3: $61,456 Business/Managerial Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,396 Year 2: $50,856 Year 3: $58,904 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $53,608 Year 3: $57,532 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,096 Year 2: $58,402 Year 3: $56,740 Music (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $56,355

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