Wayland Baptist University vs Harding University

Wayland Baptist University and Harding University, both rooted in Christian values, offer distinct educational experiences. Wayland, with its open admissions policy, welcomes a diverse student body, while Harding's selective admissions process results in a more competitive applicant pool. Wayland's curriculum emphasizes professional programs, with popular majors in business, education, and nursing, while Harding's strengths lie in liberal arts and sciences, with pre-professional programs in medicine, law, and pharmacy attracting many students. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these universities' acceptance rates, student demographics, graduation outcomes, and other key factors that can help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Harding University	Wayland Baptist University
Overview
Location	Searcy, Arkansas	Plainview, Texas
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Town: Remote
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	84.0%	39.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation	Churches of Christ	Baptist

Admission
Acceptance rate	54.1%	80.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $45	Undergraduate: $35 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1050 - 1300	N/A
ACT range	20 - 28	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	23.0%
Students submitting ACT score	80.0%
Total number of applicants	2,200	733
Total number of admissions given out	1,191	592
Admitted students who chose to enroll	748	226
Yield rate	62.8%	38.2%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$34,538	$38,730
Average net price	$20,533	$23,378
Tuition	$21,690	$20,588
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,068 Meal plan: $4,658	Room/dormitory: $2,850 Meal plan: $5,566
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	97.0% Average amount $12,769	96.0% Average amount $11,462
Students receiving federal student loan	45.0% Average amount $5,607	95.0% Average amount $4,071
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $12,585	12.0% Average amount $10,963

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,684 Men 43.8% Women 56.2%	2,690 Men 46.6% Women 53.4%
Graduate students	1,289 Men 34.0% Women 66.0%	818 Men 42.5% Women 57.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	14.3%
International students	6.2%	1.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	2,867	810
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Texas New Mexico Oklahoma American Samoa California

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Business Communication and Journalism Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Business Education Public Administration and Social Service Law Enforcement and Firefighting Liberal Arts
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	67.2%	25.1%
Dropout rate	31.7%	73.4%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Health/Medical Preparatory Programs (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $117,748 Year 2: $124,539 Year 3: $127,639 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,011 Year 2: $106,978 Year 3: $105,028 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,933 Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $88,179 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $69,415 Year 2: $68,618 Year 3: $71,365 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,335 Year 2: $66,104 Year 3: $69,942 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,533 Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $67,054 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,156 Year 2: $52,733 Year 3: $65,082 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,219 Year 2: $57,047 Year 3: $64,125 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,088 Year 2: $58,221 Year 3: $62,592 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,124 Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $60,778	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,081 Year 2: $53,984 Year 3: $66,005 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,879 Year 2: $44,021 Year 3: $45,669 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,929 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $38,448 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,876 Year 2: $27,488 Year 3: $36,562 Human Services, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $29,652 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,125 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $32,589 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,393 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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