Desert College vs Chaffey

College of the Desert and Chaffey College, both esteemed community colleges in California, offer diverse educational opportunities to students seeking higher education. While they share similarities, each institution possesses unique characteristics that cater to different academic aspirations and preferences. College of the Desert boasts a higher acceptance rate, welcoming a broader range of students, while Chaffey College maintains a slightly more selective admissions process. In terms of academic offerings, College of the Desert excels in programs like Liberal Arts and Humanities, while Chaffey College shines in fields such as Business and Management. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further distinctions between these two colleges, including student demographics, graduation rates, and additional program offerings, to make an informed decision that aligns with your educational goals and aspirations.

	Chaffey College	College of the Desert
Overview
Location	Rancho Cucamonga, California	Palm Desert, California
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: Small
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	72.0%	67.0%
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: $24,324 Out of state: $32,100	In state: $24,465 Out of state: $32,109
Average net price	$13,939	$14,179
Tuition	In state: $1,104 Out of state: $8,880	In state: $1,288 Out of state: $8,932
Room & board
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	83.0% Average amount $5,314	95.0% Average amount $5,621
Students receiving federal student loan	0.0% Average amount $5,125
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	18,688 Men 38.4% Women 61.6%	10,229 Men 41.1% Women 58.9%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	4.9%	1.5%
International students	0.4%	0.6%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Small
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	California	California Colorado Arizona Florida Indiana

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Business Multidisciplinary Studies Social Sciences Law Enforcement and Firefighting	Business Liberal Arts Psychology Health Professions Family and Consumer Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	21:1	24:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	27.9%	29.4%
Dropout rate	44.4%	48.9%
Transferred out	9.2%	5.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $28,190 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $79,088 Year 2: $73,446 Year 3: $79,174 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $20,301 Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: $41,242 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $22,277 Year 2: $21,781 Year 3: $25,003 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $22,771 Year 2: $30,409 Year 3: $23,897 Psychology, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $16,835 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $35,428 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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