Western Carolina University (WCU) vs Southeastern Louisiana University

Western Carolina University and Southeastern Louisiana 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 and a larger student body, while Southeastern Louisiana, located in the vibrant city of Hammond, has a smaller student population and a lower acceptance rate. Both universities offer a diverse range of academic programs, with Western Carolina excelling in fields like nursing, education, and business, and Southeastern Louisiana excelling in fields like engineering, nursing, and education. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these universities' acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, graduation rates, and other key factors, helping you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Southeastern Louisiana University	Western Carolina University
Overview
Location	Hammond, Louisiana	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	64.0%	75.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	98.9%	79.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $20	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	5,634	12,308
Total number of admissions given out	5,574	9,775
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,230	1,729
Yield rate	40.0%	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: $24,435 Out of state: $36,913	In state: $19,349 Out of state: $23,349
Average net price	$12,891	$13,082
Tuition	In state: $5,777 Out of state: $18,255	In state: $1,000 Out of state: $5,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,050 Meal plan: $3,750	Room/dormitory: $6,403 Meal plan: $5,029
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	95.0% Average amount $8,867	73.0% Average amount $5,772
Students receiving federal student loan	40.0% Average amount $4,773	56.0% Average amount $4,850
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $8,867	9.0% Average amount $9,396

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	12,459 Men 37.2% Women 62.8%	10,145 Men 43.6% Women 56.4%
Graduate students	997 Men 23.6% Women 76.4%	1,732 Men 32.1% Women 67.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	1.8%	17.7%
International students	1.2%	1.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	2,742	3,815
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Louisiana Texas Mississippi California Florida	North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Tennessee

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Education Liberal Arts Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Health Professions Education Business Public Administration and Social Service Engineering Technologies
Students to faculty ratio	18:1	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	37.6%	61.4%
Dropout rate	21.4%	10.2%
Transferred out	36.2%	27.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,869 Year 2: $92,712 Year 3: $95,010 Engineering Technology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,526 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $71,040 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,791 Year 2: $56,776 Year 3: $65,686 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,400 Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: $64,187 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,570 Year 2: $61,728 Year 3: $61,577 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,908 Year 2: $48,823 Year 3: $56,174 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $49,491 Year 2: $51,106 Year 3: $51,453 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,185 Year 2: $49,696 Year 3: $50,537 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,388 Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $48,247 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $49,114 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $48,214	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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