Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) vs Southwestern Community College

Catawba Valley Community College and Southwestern Community College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer diverse educational opportunities to students in North Carolina. While they share a commitment to academic excellence, they also possess distinct characteristics that cater to different student needs. Catawba Valley boasts a higher acceptance rate, welcoming a broader range of students, while Southwestern maintains a smaller student body, fostering a more intimate learning environment. Explore the detailed comparison table to delve into further distinctions, including popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates, to determine which college best aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Catawba Valley Community College	Southwestern Community College
Overview
Location	Hickory, North Carolina	Sylva, North Carolina
Campus setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	69.0%	68.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	Open Admission	Open Admission
Application fees
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	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: $27,609 Out of state: $32,985	In state: $18,501 Out of state: $23,813
Average net price	$8,286	$2,744
Tuition	In state: $2,128 Out of state: $7,504	In state: $2,392 Out of state: $7,704
Room & board
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	91.0% Average amount $5,620	74.0% Average amount $11,731
Students receiving federal student loan	0.0% Average amount $0	9.0% Average amount $7,773
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $6,560	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	4,168 Men 42.1% Women 57.9%	2,504 Men 36.4% Women 63.6%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	1.1%	0.4%
International students	1.2%	0.5%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
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	North Carolina South Carolina Ohio	North Carolina Georgia

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Business Health Professions Engineering Technologies Computer and Information Science	Health Professions Liberal Arts Business Education Engineering Technologies
Students to faculty ratio	11:1	11:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	36.6%	39.6%
Dropout rate	39.6%	40.3%
Transferred out	16.6%	11.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $47,963 Year 3: $52,557 Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,869 Year 3: $51,191 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $46,010 Year 2: $42,930 Year 3: $47,153 Accounting and Related Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $27,476 Year 3: $33,124 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $32,107 Year 2: $28,236 Year 3: $30,990 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $30,183 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $20,861 Year 2: $27,155 Year 3: $29,242 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $25,381 Year 2: $24,679 Year 3: $27,887 Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $14,627 Year 3: N/A Criminal Justice and Corrections (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: N/A	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $54,833 Year 2: $54,904 Year 3: $52,302 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $40,293 Year 2: $46,321 Year 3: $45,686 Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $41,181 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $37,628 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $26,779 Year 2: $27,126 Year 3: $29,320 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $20,772 Year 2: $25,580 Year 3: $28,896 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $27,814 Year 2: $24,035 Year 3: $27,855 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: N/A Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $14,935 Year 3: N/A Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $12,328 Year 2: $15,182 Year 3: N/A Legal Support Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A

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Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) vs Southwestern Community College

Catawba Valley Community College

Southwestern Community College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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