Virginia Highlands Community College (VHCC) vs Laurel Ridge Community College (LRCC)

Virginia Highlands Community College and Laurel Ridge Community College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences tailored to diverse student aspirations. While Virginia Highlands boasts an acceptance rate of 100%, ensuring admission for all qualified applicants, Laurel Ridge maintains a more selective approach with an acceptance rate of 88%. In terms of student demographics, Virginia Highlands caters to a larger and more diverse student body, with a total enrollment of over 5,000 students, while Laurel Ridge fosters a smaller, close-knit community of around 2,000 students. Both colleges offer a wide range of academic programs, with Virginia Highlands excelling in fields such as Business, Health Professions, and Industrial Technologies, and Laurel Ridge specializing in Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. With varying graduation rates of 22% and 35% respectively, these institutions provide unique pathways for students to achieve their educational goals. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details and discover which

	Laurel Ridge Community College	Virginia Highlands Community College
Overview
Location	Middletown, Virginia	Abingdon, Virginia
Campus setting	Rural: Fringe	Suburb: Small
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	60.0%	49.0%
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: $19,519 Out of state: $25,522	In state: $14,370 Out of state: $20,373
Average net price	$8,359	$6,621
Tuition	In state: $4,620 Out of state: $9,918	In state: $4,620 Out of state: $9,918
Room & board
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	43.0% Average amount $3,196	76.0% Average amount $5,168
Students receiving federal student loan	5.0% Average amount $4,128	0.0% Average amount $0
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $5,523	1.0% Average amount $2,681

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	5,862 Men 37.2% Women 62.8%	2,451 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	0.9%	6.5%
International students	0.5%	0.1%
Campus local/setting	Rural: Fringe	Suburb: 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	Virginia West Virginia Florida	Virginia Tennessee

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Health Professions Multidisciplinary Studies Computer and Information Science Engineering Technologies	Liberal Arts Health Professions Construction Trades Precision Production Automotive Technology
Students to faculty ratio	25:1	21:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	44.7%	40.7%
Dropout rate	38.0%	40.7%
Transferred out	11.0%	10.1%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $54,854 Year 2: $55,383 Year 3: $61,843 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $25,409 Year 2: $35,954 Year 3: $38,348 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $26,691 Year 2: $23,768 Year 3: $30,049 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $14,166 Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $26,160 Biological and Physical Sciences (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $30,652 Year 2: $29,141 Year 3: N/A Health and Medical Administrative Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: N/A Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $32,343 Year 2: $43,426 Year 3: N/A Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $49,351 Year 2: $49,370 Year 3: $54,521 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $16,162 Year 2: $17,425 Year 3: $25,114 Electrical and Power Transmission Installers (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: N/A Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $24,704 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $17,846 Year 3: N/A

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