West Virginia University (WVU) vs Western Carolina University (WCU)

West Virginia University (WVU) and Western Carolina University (WCU) are two distinct institutions of higher learning, each offering unique opportunities and experiences to their students. WVU, located in Morgantown, West Virginia, boasts a larger student body and a higher acceptance rate compared to WCU, which is situated in Cullowhee, North Carolina. While both universities offer a diverse range of academic programs, WVU excels in engineering, health professions, and business, while WCU is renowned for its programs in nursing, education, and arts. Additionally, the student body demographics vary, with WVU having a slightly higher percentage of male students and WCU having a slightly higher percentage of female students. To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we have compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into these differences and more, providing valuable insights to guide your choice.

	West Virginia University	Western Carolina University
Overview
Location	Morgantown, West Virginia	Cullowhee, North Carolina
Campus setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
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	81.0%	75.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	89.8%	79.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $60	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	1030 - 1230	1060 - 1230
ACT range	21 - 27	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score	57.0%	12.0%
Students submitting ACT score	38.0%	43.0%
Total number of applicants	17,074	12,308
Total number of admissions given out	15,336	9,775
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,313	1,729
Yield rate	28.1%	17.7%
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)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $21,756 Out of state: $38,100	In state: $19,349 Out of state: $23,349
Average net price	$13,422	$13,082
Tuition	In state: $8,976 Out of state: $25,320	In state: $1,000 Out of state: $5,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,184 Meal plan: $5,504	Room/dormitory: $6,403 Meal plan: $5,029
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	89.0% Average amount $10,867	73.0% Average amount $5,772
Students receiving federal student loan	52.0% Average amount $5,294	56.0% Average amount $4,850
Students taking out private loans	15.0% Average amount $16,332	9.0% Average amount $9,396

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	19,599 Men 47.9% Women 52.1%	10,145 Men 43.6% Women 56.4%
Graduate students	5,875 Men 44.4% Women 55.6%	1,732 Men 32.1% Women 67.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	55.3%	17.7%
International students	5.3%	1.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	6,956	3,815
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	West Virginia Pennsylvania Virginia Maryland Ohio	North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Tennessee

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Engineering Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Health Professions Education Business Public Administration and Social Service Engineering Technologies
Students to faculty ratio	18:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	63.9%	61.4%
Dropout rate	11.3%	10.2%
Transferred out	22.5%	27.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $112,323 Year 2: $125,015 Year 3: $143,709 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $103,140 Year 2: $118,155 Year 3: $119,358 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $93,573 Year 2: $94,763 Year 3: $96,536 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $77,732 Year 2: $81,997 Year 3: $91,425 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,711 Year 2: $81,333 Year 3: $82,001 Petroleum Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,468 Year 2: $61,303 Year 3: $79,782 Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,292 Year 2: $68,047 Year 3: $77,798 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,506 Year 2: $62,012 Year 3: $77,273 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,040 Year 2: $65,238 Year 3: $76,205 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,477 Year 2: $66,069 Year 3: $76,022	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,321 Year 2: $103,913 Year 3: $103,661 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,207 Year 2: $64,990 Year 3: $72,372 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,769 Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $72,367 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $65,460 Year 2: $67,324 Year 3: $68,635 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,202 Year 2: $58,221 Year 3: $64,334 Engineering Technology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,173 Year 2: $54,996 Year 3: $63,171 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $64,798 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $61,637 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,571 Year 2: $55,512 Year 3: $59,030 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,835 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $58,930 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,362 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $57,003

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