Western Carolina University (WCU) vs University of West Alabama (UWA)

Western Carolina University and the University of West Alabama, while both offering quality education, present distinct characteristics that cater to different student preferences. Western Carolina, nestled in the scenic mountains of North Carolina, boasts a higher acceptance rate, allowing more students the opportunity to pursue their academic aspirations. In contrast, the University of West Alabama, located in the historic city of Livingston, Alabama, maintains a more selective admissions process. Regarding academic offerings, Western Carolina excels in fields like nursing, business, and education, while the University of West Alabama shines in areas such as criminal justice, social work, and biology. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further distinctions between these institutions, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your higher education journey.

	University of West Alabama	Western Carolina University
Overview
Location	Livingston, Alabama	Cullowhee, North Carolina
Campus setting	Rural: 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	63.0%	75.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	74.3%	79.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $40	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	880 - 980	1060 - 1230
ACT range	17 - 21	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score	2.0%	12.0%
Students submitting ACT score	69.0%	43.0%
Total number of applicants	1,539	12,308
Total number of admissions given out	1,144	9,775
Admitted students who chose to enroll	351	1,729
Yield rate	30.7%	17.7%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not 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: $22,911 Out of state: $32,011	In state: $19,349 Out of state: $23,349
Average net price	$15,435	$13,082
Tuition	In state: $9,100 Out of state: $18,200	In state: $1,000 Out of state: $5,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,760 Meal plan: $2,834	Room/dormitory: $6,403 Meal plan: $5,029
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	89.0% Average amount $7,129	73.0% Average amount $5,772
Students receiving federal student loan	65.0% Average amount $5,418	56.0% Average amount $4,850
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $8,357	9.0% Average amount $9,396

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,322 Men 30.6% Women 69.4%	10,145 Men 43.6% Women 56.4%
Graduate students	3,272 Men 20.0% Women 80.0%	1,732 Men 32.1% Women 67.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	17.7%
International students	2.0%	1.7%
Campus local/setting	Rural: Remote	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	1,019	3,815
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Tennessee

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Health Professions Multidisciplinary Studies Communication and Journalism	Health Professions Education Business Public Administration and Social Service Engineering Technologies
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	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	39.1%	61.4%
Dropout rate	21.5%	10.2%
Transferred out	36.0%	27.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $57,363 Year 2: $61,681 Year 3: $64,667 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,130 Year 2: $53,942 Year 3: $55,799 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $52,682 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $54,452 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $47,975 Year 2: $48,510 Year 3: $51,622 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,470 Year 2: $46,380 Year 3: $48,647 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $47,701 Year 2: $46,261 Year 3: $47,958 Educational/Instructional Media Design (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,803 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $47,734 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,054 Year 3: $35,960 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,711 Year 3: N/A Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,983 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A	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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