Western Carolina University (WCU) vs Duke University

Western Carolina University and Duke University, two esteemed institutions of higher learning in North Carolina, offer distinct educational experiences. Western Carolina, nestled in the picturesque town of Cullowhee, boasts a welcoming community with a focus on undergraduate education. Duke, renowned for its academic excellence, is situated in the vibrant city of Durham and offers a diverse range of graduate and professional programs. With acceptance rates of 79% and 8%, respectively, these universities cater to different levels of academic competitiveness. While Western Carolina's popular majors include nursing, education, and business, Duke's strengths lie in engineering, biology, and public policy. Explore the comprehensive comparison table to delve into further details about these universities, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your decision.

	Duke University	Western Carolina University
Overview
Location	Durham, North Carolina	Cullowhee, North Carolina
Campus setting	City: Large	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	98.0%	75.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	5.9%	79.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $85 Graduate: $95	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	1468 - 1558	1060 - 1230
ACT range	33 - 35	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score	47.0%	12.0%
Students submitting ACT score	46.0%	43.0%
Total number of applicants	49,703	12,308
Total number of admissions given out	2,927	9,775
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,744	1,729
Yield rate	59.6%	17.7%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$79,860	In state: $19,349 Out of state: $23,349
Average net price	$27,297	$13,082
Tuition	$58,085	In state: $1,000 Out of state: $5,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,164 Meal plan: $6,862	Room/dormitory: $6,403 Meal plan: $5,029
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	46.0% Average amount $50,731	73.0% Average amount $5,772
Students receiving federal student loan	20.0% Average amount $4,537	56.0% Average amount $4,850
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $22,957	9.0% Average amount $9,396

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	6,883 Men 48.4% Women 51.6%	10,145 Men 43.6% Women 56.4%
Graduate students	10,737 Men 45.5% Women 54.5%	1,732 Men 32.1% Women 67.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	17.7%
International students	21.4%	1.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	5,718	3,815
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Tennessee

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Engineering Legal Profession Social Sciences	Health Professions Education Business Public Administration and Social Service Engineering Technologies
Students to faculty ratio	6:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	95.9%	61.4%
Dropout rate	4.0%	10.2%
Transferred out	N/A	27.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	International Business (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $151,472 Year 2: $213,978 Year 3: $201,782 Law (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $155,031 Year 2: $168,098 Year 3: $200,300 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $143,622 Year 2: $148,189 Year 3: $163,560 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $163,977 Year 2: $138,342 Year 3: $159,598 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $115,135 Year 2: $106,898 Year 3: $134,542 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $123,138 Year 2: $116,541 Year 3: $124,406 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $108,817 Year 2: $97,071 Year 3: $117,262 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $94,699 Year 2: $90,856 Year 3: $112,646 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,661 Year 2: $91,078 Year 3: $108,736 Economics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $104,348	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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