The Citadel vs Limestone University

Citadel Military College of South Carolina and Limestone University, both located in South Carolina, offer distinct educational experiences. Citadel, a public military college, boasts a 75% acceptance rate and is known for its strong ROTC program and focus on leadership development. Limestone, a private liberal arts university, has a higher acceptance rate of 85% and offers a diverse range of undergraduate and graduate programs. While Citadel's student body is predominantly male (85%) and residential (99%), Limestone's student population is more evenly distributed between genders (53% female, 47% male) and offers both residential and commuter options. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these institutions' differences in popular majors, graduation rates, and other key factors, and make an informed decision about which one aligns best with your academic goals and preferences.

	Citadel Military College of South Carolina	Limestone University
Overview
Location	Charleston, South Carolina	Gaffney, South Carolina
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Town: Fringe
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	86.0%	67.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	86.4%	87.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $40
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	2,470	1,911
Total number of admissions given out	2,134	1,667
Admitted students who chose to enroll	566	294
Yield rate	26.5%	17.6%
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)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $48,551 Out of state: $71,807	$39,526
Average net price	$19,473	$22,719
Tuition	In state: $8,356 Out of state: $30,857	$25,200
Room & board	$7,593	Room/dormitory: $5,477 Meal plan: $5,168
Available payment plans		Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	79.0% Average amount $11,451	99.0% Average amount $19,625
Students receiving federal student loan	49.0% Average amount $5,200	77.0% Average amount $9,396
Students taking out private loans	17.0% Average amount $26,781	10.0% Average amount $13,248

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,718 Men 86.4% Women 13.6%	1,680 Men 47.5% Women 52.5%
Graduate students	975 Men 50.1% Women 49.9%	160 Men 36.2% Women 63.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	44.0%	N/A
International students	1.1%	2.2%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	2,372	711
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	South Carolina Georgia North Carolina Florida New York	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Engineering Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Psychology	Business Public Administration and Social Service Computer and Information Science Liberal Arts Psychology
Students to faculty ratio	11:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	73.1%	29.7%
Dropout rate	9.1%	18.8%
Transferred out	16.0%	50.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,909 Year 2: $82,123 Year 3: $97,617 Engineering-Related Fields (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $86,129 Year 3: $95,438 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,390 Year 2: $63,692 Year 3: $73,572 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,512 Year 2: $59,071 Year 3: $68,635 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,853 Year 2: $40,017 Year 3: $57,251 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,394 Year 2: $48,617 Year 3: $55,395 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,673 Year 2: $41,342 Year 3: $55,155 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,273 Year 2: $39,009 Year 3: $52,597 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,924 Year 2: $37,856 Year 3: $49,110 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $45,696 Year 3: $46,799	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $52,685 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,004 Year 2: $52,607 Year 3: $49,588 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,094 Year 2: $40,896 Year 3: $42,756 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $38,022 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $34,123 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,986 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $33,688 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,027 Year 2: $34,847 Year 3: $33,172 Social Work (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,421 Year 2: $30,854 Year 3: $31,656 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $36,848 Year 3: N/A Human Resources Management and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: N/A

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