Western Carolina University (WCU) vs Emporia State

Western Carolina University and Emporia State University, located in the picturesque regions of North Carolina and Kansas respectively, offer distinct educational experiences. Western Carolina boasts a higher acceptance rate, welcoming a more diverse student body, while Emporia State maintains a smaller student population, fostering a close-knit community. Both universities excel in different academic areas, with Western Carolina excelling in fields like nursing and education, and Emporia State excelling in business and aviation. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these universities' unique strengths, including graduation rates, popular majors, and additional factors that may influence your decision.

	Emporia State University	Western Carolina University
Overview
Location	Emporia, Kansas	Cullowhee, North Carolina
Campus setting	Town: Remote	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	74.0%	75.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.4%	79.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	N/A	1060 - 1230
ACT range	N/A	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score		12.0%
Students submitting ACT score		43.0%
Total number of applicants	1,419	12,308
Total number of admissions given out	1,254	9,775
Admitted students who chose to enroll	481	1,729
Yield rate	38.4%	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: $21,413 Out of state: $29,330	In state: $19,349 Out of state: $23,349
Average net price	$14,564	$13,082
Tuition	In state: $5,278 Out of state: $13,195	In state: $1,000 Out of state: $5,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,100 Meal plan: $3,852	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)	90.0% Average amount $5,147	73.0% Average amount $5,772
Students receiving federal student loan	72.0% Average amount $5,327	56.0% Average amount $4,850
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $9,499	9.0% Average amount $9,396

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,948 Men 35.1% Women 64.9%	10,145 Men 43.6% Women 56.4%
Graduate students	2,667 Men 29.4% Women 70.6%	1,732 Men 32.1% Women 67.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	8.1%	17.7%
International students	4.8%	1.7%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	892	3,815
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Kansas Oklahoma Missouri Texas Nebraska	North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Tennessee

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Library Science Health Professions Psychology	Health Professions Education Business Public Administration and Social Service Engineering Technologies
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	49.9%	61.4%
Dropout rate	36.4%	10.2%
Transferred out	11.3%	27.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,583 Year 2: $67,660 Year 3: $75,736 Information Science/Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,717 Year 2: $59,485 Year 3: $61,686 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,925 Year 2: $52,889 Year 3: $55,796 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,882 Year 2: $50,439 Year 3: $53,869 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,077 Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $52,702 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,816 Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $52,626 Educational/Instructional Media Design (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,180 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $49,818 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,389 Year 2: $42,235 Year 3: $49,202 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,521 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $49,001 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $45,868 Year 2: $45,435 Year 3: $48,342	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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