West Virginia Wesleyan College vs Cal U of Pa

West Virginia Wesleyan College and California University of Pennsylvania, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. West Virginia Wesleyan, a private liberal arts college, boasts a tight-knit community with a focus on personalized attention and a strong emphasis on the liberal arts. California University of Pennsylvania, a public university, offers a wider range of academic programs, including professional and pre-professional degrees, and a larger student body. While both institutions provide quality education, their acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates vary significantly. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	California University of Pennsylvania	West Virginia Wesleyan College
Overview
Location	California, Pennsylvania	Buckhannon, West Virginia
Campus setting	Suburb: Small	Town: Remote
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	67.0%	65.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	97.1%	84.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $35 Graduate: $35	Undergraduate: $35 Graduate: $50
SAT range	940 - 1150	968 - 1180
ACT range	18 - 24	18 - 23
Students submitting SAT score	38.0%	33.0%
Students submitting ACT score	6.0%	30.0%
Total number of applicants	3,933	1,766
Total number of admissions given out	3,818	1,491
Admitted students who chose to enroll	815	302
Yield rate	21.3%	20.3%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $27,904 Out of state: $32,522	$41,677
Average net price	$20,317	$20,512
Tuition	In state: $7,716 Out of state: $11,574	$31,384
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,822 Meal plan: $3,900	Room/dormitory: $4,912 Meal plan: $5,142
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	92.0% Average amount $6,250	100.0% Average amount $25,474
Students receiving federal student loan	62.0% Average amount $4,982	97.0% Average amount $5,882
Students taking out private loans	8.0% Average amount $9,920	10.0% Average amount $15,240

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	4,463 Men 43.3% Women 56.7%	982 Men 46.4% Women 53.6%
Graduate students	2,046 Men 30.4% Women 69.6%	72 Men 23.6% Women 76.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	13.0%	48.3%
International students	1.0%	5.0%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	2,075	1,020
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Pennsylvania Ohio New York Maryland New Jersey	West Virginia Florida Maryland Pennsylvania Virginia

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Business Law Enforcement and Firefighting	Health Professions Physical Science Business Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	48.4%	54.3%
Dropout rate	23.8%	45.4%
Transferred out	26.0%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,275 Year 2: $79,284 Year 3: $81,087 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,369 Year 2: $63,402 Year 3: $67,338 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,734 Year 2: $55,693 Year 3: $63,169 Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,118 Year 2: $54,109 Year 3: $57,285 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,198 Year 2: $48,139 Year 3: $55,763 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,913 Year 2: $52,684 Year 3: $54,844 Legal Professions and Studies, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $51,531 Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,279 Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: $50,258 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $41,266 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: $49,620 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $42,906 Year 2: $45,589 Year 3: $48,321	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,633 Year 2: $55,512 Year 3: $56,345 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,329 Year 3: $30,698 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,111 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,508 Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,047 Year 2: $29,929 Year 3: N/A Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,569 Year 3: N/A Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $93,326 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,544 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $35,878 Year 2: $38,871 Year 3: N/A

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