The Citadel vs Samford

Citadel Military College of South Carolina and Samford University, while both offering quality education, present distinct experiences for prospective students. Citadel, a public military college, boasts a 75% acceptance rate and a strong focus on leadership and military training. Samford, a private Christian university, offers a more traditional college experience with a 79% acceptance rate and a diverse range of academic programs. Citadel's student body is predominantly male (85%) and leans conservative, while Samford's student body is more evenly split between genders (52% female, 48% male) and reflects a wider range of political views. Both institutions offer competitive graduation rates, with Citadel at 68% and Samford at 73%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions between these two esteemed institutions and determine which aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Citadel Military College of South Carolina	Samford University
Overview
Location	Charleston, South Carolina	Birmingham, Alabama
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	86.0%	89.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Baptist

Admission
Acceptance rate	86.4%	83.9%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $40	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $35
SAT range	N/A	1100 - 1290
ACT range	N/A	23 - 29
Students submitting SAT score		22.0%
Students submitting ACT score		66.0%
Total number of applicants	2,470	4,217
Total number of admissions given out	2,134	3,537
Admitted students who chose to enroll	566	920
Yield rate	26.5%	26.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $48,551 Out of state: $71,807	$53,100
Average net price	$19,473	$31,871
Tuition	In state: $8,356 Out of state: $30,857	$34,410
Room & board	$7,593	Room/dormitory: $6,150 Meal plan: $5,110
Available payment plans		Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	79.0% Average amount $11,451	99.0% Average amount $19,443
Students receiving federal student loan	49.0% Average amount $5,200	31.0% Average amount $5,320
Students taking out private loans	17.0% Average amount $26,781	6.0% Average amount $19,317

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,718 Men 86.4% Women 13.6%	3,607 Men 33.4% Women 66.6%
Graduate students	975 Men 50.1% Women 49.9%	2,151 Men 32.3% Women 67.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	44.0%	73.0%
International students	1.1%	0.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,372	2,375
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	Alabama Georgia Tennessee Texas Florida

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Engineering Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Psychology	Health Professions Legal Profession Business Education Family and Consumer Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	11:1	12:1
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%	78.9%
Dropout rate	9.1%	20.9%
Transferred out	16.0%	N/A
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	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $109,542 Year 2: $120,880 Year 3: $122,995 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,811 Year 2: $99,380 Year 3: $104,909 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $86,528 Year 2: $91,363 Year 3: $88,884 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,304 Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $67,171 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,217 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $64,364 Law (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $47,785 Year 2: $48,667 Year 3: $61,547 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,967 Year 2: $54,851 Year 3: $57,875 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,355 Year 2: $54,948 Year 3: $54,480 Theological and Ministerial Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $37,947 Year 2: $39,585 Year 3: $46,442 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $44,337 Year 2: $43,638 Year 3: $46,369

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