West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCUPA) vs Lafayette College

West Chester University of Pennsylvania and Lafayette College, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. West Chester, a public university, boasts an acceptance rate of 79%, while Lafayette, a private liberal arts college, has a more selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 34%. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with West Chester excelling in fields like education, nursing, and business, and Lafayette specializing in engineering, economics, and government & law. While West Chester's student body is predominantly composed of Pennsylvania residents, Lafayette attracts a more geographically diverse population. In terms of graduation rates, Lafayette holds a slight edge over West Chester, with 87% of its students completing their degrees within four years compared to 68% at West Chester. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions between these two esteemed institutions and make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Lafayette College	West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Overview
Location	Easton, Pennsylvania	West Chester, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	91.0%	85.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	40.7%	89.4%
Application fees	$65	Undergraduate: $45 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1300 - 1460	1070 - 1250
ACT range	30 - 33	23 - 29
Students submitting SAT score	28.0%	27.0%
Students submitting ACT score	13.0%	1.0%
Total number of applicants	8,262	14,020
Total number of admissions given out	3,366	12,528
Admitted students who chose to enroll	782	2,628
Yield rate	23.2%	21.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$75,934	In state: $28,419 Out of state: $40,243
Average net price	$38,754	$14,133
Tuition	$55,874	In state: $7,716 Out of state: $19,290
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $10,308 Meal plan: $6,362	Room/dormitory: $5,794 Meal plan: $3,700
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	61.0% Average amount $34,668	100.0% Average amount $4,607
Students receiving federal student loan	26.0% Average amount $4,491	51.0% Average amount $5,238
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $23,831	11.0% Average amount $11,835

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,725 Men 51.2% Women 48.8%	14,471 Men 40.0% Women 60.0%
Graduate students	N/A	3,143 Men 31.7% Women 68.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	82.6%	11.4%
International students	7.8%	0.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,510	5,128
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Mississippi Connecticut	Pennsylvania New Jersey Delaware Maryland New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Social Sciences Physical Science Visual & Performing Arts	Health Professions Business Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Public Administration and Social Service
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	20:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	87.9%	72.8%
Dropout rate	2.5%	7.6%
Transferred out	9.6%	18.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,532 Year 2: $68,379 Year 3: $80,306 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,033 Year 2: $65,238 Year 3: $78,021 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $77,247 Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: $76,714 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,784 Year 2: $65,486 Year 3: $76,536 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,714 Year 2: $72,403 Year 3: $75,320 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,927 Year 2: $58,943 Year 3: $72,455 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,229 Year 2: $48,198 Year 3: $60,266 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,408 Year 2: $44,468 Year 3: $57,092 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,680 Year 2: $32,391 Year 3: $50,156 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,170 Year 3: $48,201	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

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCUPA) vs Lafayette College

Lafayette College

West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

Compare Similar Colleges

Find Colleges By State

Resources

About