Western Carolina University (WCU) vs Murray State

Western Carolina University and Murray State University, both public institutions with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Western Carolina, nestled in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains, boasts a higher acceptance rate (78%) compared to Murray State's 70%. While Murray State accommodates a larger student body, Western Carolina's smaller class sizes foster a more personalized learning environment. Both universities excel in various academic areas, with Western Carolina excelling in nursing, education, and psychology, while Murray State shines in business, engineering, and agriculture. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these universities' unique strengths, student demographics, graduation rates, and other crucial factors that will help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Murray State University	Western Carolina University
Overview
Location	Murray, Kentucky	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	75.0%	75.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	85.2%	79.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $40	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	960 - 1200	1060 - 1230
ACT range	20 - 27	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score	16.0%	12.0%
Students submitting ACT score	86.0%	43.0%
Total number of applicants	9,144	12,308
Total number of admissions given out	7,787	9,775
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,395	1,729
Yield rate	17.9%	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)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $26,219 Out of state: $35,495	In state: $19,349 Out of state: $23,349
Average net price	$11,237	$13,082
Tuition	In state: $8,040 Out of state: $17,316	In state: $1,000 Out of state: $5,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,538 Meal plan: $4,330	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)	99.0% Average amount $11,753	73.0% Average amount $5,772
Students receiving federal student loan	47.0% Average amount $6,997	56.0% Average amount $4,850
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $10,075	9.0% Average amount $9,396

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	7,651 Men 37.5% Women 62.5%	10,145 Men 43.6% Women 56.4%
Graduate students	1,763 Men 35.1% Women 64.9%	1,732 Men 32.1% Women 67.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	17.7%
International students	5.4%	1.7%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	3,064	3,815
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Illinois Tennessee Indiana Missouri	North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Tennessee

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Business Agriculture Engineering Technologies	Health Professions Education Business Public Administration and Social Service Engineering Technologies
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	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	55.9%	61.4%
Dropout rate	42.8%	10.2%
Transferred out	N/A	27.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $162,817 Year 3: $178,780 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,792 Year 2: $79,473 Year 3: $88,757 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,448 Year 2: $66,969 Year 3: $69,761 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,888 Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $66,008 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,643 Year 2: $59,485 Year 3: $65,410 Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,121 Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $59,977 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,148 Year 2: $58,142 Year 3: $55,771 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $44,974 Year 2: $59,485 Year 3: $54,238 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,117 Year 2: $56,641 Year 3: $52,217 Information Science/Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,964 Year 2: $50,856 Year 3: $50,840	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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