Western Carolina University (WCU) vs University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM)

Western Carolina University and University of Louisiana at Monroe, 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 smaller student body, fostering a close-knit community. In contrast, University of Louisiana at Monroe, located in the vibrant city of Monroe, has a larger student population and a lower acceptance rate, providing a more diverse and bustling campus environment. While Western Carolina excels in fields like nursing, education, and business, University of Louisiana at Monroe shines in engineering, nursing, and business administration. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these universities' unique strengths, graduation rates, and student demographics, and make an informed decision that aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	University of Louisiana at Monroe	Western Carolina University
Overview
Location	Monroe, 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	69.0%	75.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	69.9%	79.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $20	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	1060 - 1270	1060 - 1230
ACT range	19 - 24	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score	6.0%	12.0%
Students submitting ACT score	93.0%	43.0%
Total number of applicants	4,945	12,308
Total number of admissions given out	3,456	9,775
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,140	1,729
Yield rate	33.0%	17.7%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $25,480 Out of state: $37,580	In state: $19,349 Out of state: $23,349
Average net price	$10,408	$13,082
Tuition	In state: $5,788 Out of state: $17,888	In state: $1,000 Out of state: $5,000
Room & board	$9,390	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)	97.0% Average amount $12,205	73.0% Average amount $5,772
Students receiving federal student loan	45.0% Average amount $4,798	56.0% Average amount $4,850
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $7,783	9.0% Average amount $9,396

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	6,728 Men 34.6% Women 65.4%	10,145 Men 43.6% Women 56.4%
Graduate students	1,990 Men 24.0% Women 76.0%	1,732 Men 32.1% Women 67.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	5.9%	17.7%
International students	3.3%	1.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	2,257	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 Arkansas Alabama California	North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Tennessee

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Education Psychology Liberal Arts	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	53.5%	61.4%
Dropout rate	42.8%	10.2%
Transferred out	N/A	27.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $116,918 Year 2: $121,641 Year 3: $123,213 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $84,154 Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $81,735 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $70,387 Year 2: $71,351 Year 3: $73,506 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,673 Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: $63,630 Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,967 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $57,790 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,010 Year 2: $55,770 Year 3: $55,505 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $53,499 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,120 Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $52,793 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,354 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $50,536 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,454 Year 2: $31,042 Year 3: $41,661	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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