Coastal Carolina University vs Wake Forest University (WFU)

Coastal Carolina University and Wake Forest University, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Coastal Carolina, a public university located in Conway, South Carolina, boasts an acceptance rate of 75%, making it a more accessible option for prospective students. Wake Forest, a private university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has a more selective admissions process, with an acceptance rate of 33%. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with Coastal Carolina specializing in fields like business, education, and nursing, while Wake Forest is known for its strengths in the liberal arts, sciences, and business. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further distinctions between these two institutions, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your college decision.

	Coastal Carolina University	Wake Forest University
Overview
Location	Conway, South Carolina	Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Midsize
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	72.0%	94.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	79.1%	25.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $45 Graduate: $45	Undergraduate: $85 Graduate: $80
SAT range	1030 - 1190	N/A
ACT range	20 - 25	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	29.0%
Students submitting ACT score	13.0%
Total number of applicants	15,481	15,156
Total number of admissions given out	12,251	3,816
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,519	1,412
Yield rate	20.6%	37.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $26,318 Out of state: $42,072	$79,886
Average net price	$14,956	$24,643
Tuition	In state: $11,460 Out of state: $27,214	$58,708
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,440 Meal plan: $3,928	Room/dormitory: $10,144 Meal plan: $7,870
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	91.0% Average amount $9,834	33.0% Average amount $53,244
Students receiving federal student loan	60.0% Average amount $5,848	17.0% Average amount $4,985
Students taking out private loans	16.0% Average amount $20,291	3.0% Average amount $32,719

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,790 Men 44.9% Women 55.1%	5,472 Men 45.7% Women 54.3%
Graduate students	683 Men 30.7% Women 69.3%	3,475 Men 42.4% Women 57.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	60.2%	N/A
International students	1.2%	9.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	4,728	4,152
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	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Business Communication and Journalism	Business Health Professions Legal Profession Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	10:1
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%	90.2%
Dropout rate	11.4%	9.5%
Transferred out	36.7%	N/A
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	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $169,430 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $155,438 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,143 Year 2: $96,587 Year 3: $105,398 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,169 Year 2: $80,510 Year 3: $96,761 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,086 Year 2: $76,836 Year 3: $93,939 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,098 Year 2: $71,015 Year 3: $89,902 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,076 Year 2: $65,145 Year 3: $79,400 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,533 Year 2: $66,653 Year 3: $76,702 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $58,731 Year 2: $60,811 Year 3: $72,065 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,100 Year 2: $55,693 Year 3: $70,717 Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $56,086 Year 2: $57,411 Year 3: $65,270

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