Harper vs Rio Salado

William Rainey Harper College and Rio Salado College, both esteemed community colleges, offer diverse educational opportunities to students in Illinois and Arizona, respectively. While they share a commitment to providing accessible and affordable higher education, they differ in several key aspects. Harper College boasts a higher acceptance rate, welcoming a broader range of students, while Rio Salado College stands out with its impressive graduation rate, ensuring student success. Explore the detailed comparison table to delve into further distinctions, including popular majors, student body demographics, and additional factors that may influence your choice. Discover which institution aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences, setting you on the path to achieving your educational goals.

	Rio Salado College	William Rainey Harper College
Overview
Location	Tempe, Arizona	Palatine, Illinois
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	37.0%	74.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	Open Admission	Open Admission
Application fees		$25
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants
Total number of admissions given out
Admitted students who chose to enroll
Yield rate
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	Not required
High school GPA	N/A	N/A
Recommendation letters	N/A	N/A
High school transcript	N/A	N/A
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	N/A	N/A

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $14,542 Out of state: $20,326	In state: $29,820 Out of state: $31,632
Average net price	$9,426	$7,112
Tuition	In state: $2,040 Out of state: $7,824	In state: $9,372 Out of state: $11,184
Room & board
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	71.0% Average amount $5,379	57.0% Average amount $4,971
Students receiving federal student loan	26.0% Average amount $4,710	3.0% Average amount $4,807
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $0	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	15,682 Men 40.6% Women 59.4%	12,015 Men 44.2% Women 55.8%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	12.0%	0.5%
International students	0.2%	0.6%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	N/A	N/A
First year students are required to live on campus?	N/A	N/A
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Arizona California Texas Louisiana Alabama	Illinois Pennsylvania Wisconsin Georgia Iowa

Academics
Popular study areas	Law Enforcement and Firefighting Business Liberal Arts Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science	Liberal Arts Health Professions Business Multidisciplinary Studies Engineering Technologies
Students to faculty ratio	25:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	8.5%	37.8%
Dropout rate	64.9%	28.9%
Transferred out	20.2%	20.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Criminal Justice and Corrections (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $42,986 Year 2: $41,884 Year 3: $44,530 Business Operations Support and Assistant Services (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $42,922 Year 2: $34,348 Year 3: $39,074 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $37,704 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: $34,090 Legal Support Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,047 Year 3: $28,264 Data Processing (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,938 Year 3: N/A Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: N/A	Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $58,892 Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $73,991 Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $61,058 Year 2: $59,937 Year 3: $64,559 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $63,114 Year 2: $61,908 Year 3: $62,113 Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $27,669 Year 3: $43,118 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,127 Year 3: $39,397 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $26,090 Year 2: $27,319 Year 3: $34,147 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $36,373 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: $32,807 Biological and Physical Sciences (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $28,238 Year 2: $22,420 Year 3: $27,387 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $30,173 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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