Coastal Carolina University vs George Mason University (GMU)

Coastal Carolina University and George Mason University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Coastal Carolina, nestled in the charming coastal town of Conway, South Carolina, boasts a tight-knit community and a focus on undergraduate education. George Mason, located in the vibrant city of Fairfax, Virginia, is known for its research opportunities and diverse student body. With acceptance rates of 73% and 79%, respectively, both universities welcome a substantial number of applicants. While Coastal Carolina's popular majors include Business Administration, Psychology, and Biology, George Mason excels in Computer Science, Engineering, and Economics. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these universities' student demographics, graduation rates, and other crucial factors that will help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Coastal Carolina University	George Mason University
Overview
Location	Conway, South Carolina	Fairfax, Virginia
Campus setting	City: Small	Suburb: Large
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	72.0%	84.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	79.1%	91.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $45 Graduate: $45	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $75
SAT range	1030 - 1190	1140 - 1350
ACT range	20 - 25	25 - 30
Students submitting SAT score	29.0%	37.0%
Students submitting ACT score	13.0%	3.0%
Total number of applicants	15,481	20,527
Total number of admissions given out	12,251	18,741
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,519	3,986
Yield rate	20.6%	21.3%
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: $26,318 Out of state: $42,072	In state: $35,263 Out of state: $58,723
Average net price	$14,956	$18,841
Tuition	In state: $11,460 Out of state: $27,214	In state: $9,510 Out of state: $32,970
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,440 Meal plan: $3,928	Room/dormitory: $7,620 Meal plan: $5,010
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	91.0% Average amount $9,834	70.0% Average amount $10,110
Students receiving federal student loan	60.0% Average amount $5,848	43.0% Average amount $5,006
Students taking out private loans	16.0% Average amount $20,291	6.0% Average amount $18,474

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,790 Men 44.9% Women 55.1%	26,882 Men 50.4% Women 49.6%
Graduate students	683 Men 30.7% Women 69.3%	11,746 Men 40.7% Women 59.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	60.2%	18.9%
International students	1.2%	8.0%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	4,728	6,513
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	South Carolina New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Maryland	Virginia Maryland District of Columbia Pennsylvania New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Business Communication and Journalism	Education Health Professions Business Computer and Information Science Engineering
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	51.2%	70.1%
Dropout rate	11.4%	9.6%
Transferred out	36.7%	16.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $49,378 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $69,235 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $44,086 Year 2: $48,198 Year 3: $61,332 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,114 Year 2: $53,497 Year 3: $60,248 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,888 Year 2: $65,750 Year 3: $59,685 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,976 Year 2: $34,704 Year 3: $44,693 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $42,824 Year 2: $42,873 Year 3: $44,446 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,464 Year 2: $37,856 Year 3: $44,425 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,250 Year 2: $38,168 Year 3: $43,145 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,430 Year 2: $38,597 Year 3: $42,978 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,101 Year 2: $36,423 Year 3: $42,472	Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,837 Year 2: $109,763 Year 3: $127,586 Homeland Security (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,476 Year 2: $127,993 Year 3: $120,573 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,886 Year 2: $99,709 Year 3: $117,377 Computer Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $112,424 Year 2: $101,072 Year 3: $115,693 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $98,841 Year 2: $105,585 Year 3: $113,896 Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $121,226 Year 2: $92,632 Year 3: $105,664 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $101,843 Year 2: $100,690 Year 3: $101,702 Medical Illustration and Informatics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,386 Year 2: $84,653 Year 3: $101,604 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,911 Year 2: $91,448 Year 3: $99,722 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $94,065 Year 2: $92,277 Year 3: $94,785

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