Grand Canyon University (GCU) vs Berkeley

Grand Canyon University (GCU) and University of California-Berkeley (UC Berkeley) stand as two distinct academic institutions, each offering unique opportunities and experiences to their students. GCU, a private Christian university located in Phoenix, Arizona, boasts a significantly higher acceptance rate compared to UC Berkeley, a prestigious public research university situated in Berkeley, California. While GCU's student body primarily comprises undergraduate students, UC Berkeley hosts a diverse mix of undergraduate and graduate learners. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further contrasts between these institutions, including popular majors, student demographics, graduation rates, and more, to help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.
Grand Canyon University logo

Grand Canyon University

University of California-Berkeley logo

University of California-Berkeley

Overview

Location Phoenix, Arizona Berkeley, California
Campus setting City: Large City: Midsize
College type 4 year 4 year
Control/business model Private (For Profit) Public
Calendar system Semester Semester
Degrees offered Undergraduate and Graduate Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate 71.0% 96.0%
Common app member No No
Religious affiliation

Admission

Acceptance rate 82.8% 14.4%
Application fees
Undergraduate: $70

Graduate: $120
SAT range N/A N/A
ACT range N/A N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants 36,861 112,843
Total number of admissions given out 30,534 16,295
Admitted students who chose to enroll 7,620 6,931
Yield rate 25.0% 42.5%
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) Required Required

Tuition and Fees

Sticker price $32,100
In state: $37,920

Out of state: $67,674
Average net price $21,644 $17,652
Tuition $16,500
In state: $11,442

Out of state: $41,196
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $5,300

Meal plan: $3,800
$20,236
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

100.0%
Average amount $10,225
52.0%
Average amount $21,406
Students receiving federal student loan 60.0%
Average amount $5,346
15.0%
Average amount $4,586
Students taking out private loans 8.0%
Average amount $12,937
6.0%
Average amount $7,122

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 65,870
Men 29.3% Women 70.7%
31,814
Men 45.4% Women 54.6%
Graduate students 37,202
Men 22.5% Women 77.5%
13,222
Men 51.7% Women 48.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Moderate
Moderate
Out-of-state students 73.1% 16.9%
International students 1.2% 18.0%
Campus local/setting City: Large City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity 15,937 9,630
First year students are required to live on campus? No No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from Arizona California Washington Colorado Minnesota California New Jersey Texas Virginia New York

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Health Professions
  • Education
  • Business
  • Psychology
  • Computer and Information Science
  • Engineering
  • Business
  • Computer and Information Science
  • Legal Profession
  • Health Professions
Students to faculty ratio 20:1 20:1
Institutional accreditation Higher Learning Commission Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome

Graduation rate 44.7% 92.8%
Dropout rate 52.9% 6.3%
Transferred out N/A N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees)
  • Year 1: $117,397
  • Year 2: $119,061
  • Year 3: $125,189
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $97,451
  • Year 2: $96,705
  • Year 3: $100,941
Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $86,965
  • Year 2: $87,641
  • Year 3: $91,610
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $78,940
  • Year 2: $77,476
  • Year 3: $80,825
Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees)
  • Year 1: $75,319
  • Year 2: $66,821
  • Year 3: $68,008
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $65,248
  • Year 2: $64,265
  • Year 3: $66,703
Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $58,382
  • Year 2: $57,047
  • Year 3: $64,355
Education, General (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $59,308
  • Year 2: $59,621
  • Year 3: $62,793
Homeland Security (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $63,625
  • Year 2: $60,082
  • Year 3: $61,171
Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $56,083
  • Year 2: $55,605
  • Year 3: $59,588
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $171,936
  • Year 3: $191,597
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $122,038
  • Year 3: $167,052
Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $125,250
  • Year 2: $125,388
  • Year 3: $161,399
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $126,367
  • Year 2: $128,868
  • Year 3: $160,666
Law (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $160,390
  • Year 2: $142,470
  • Year 3: $143,984
Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $119,358
  • Year 3: $143,516
Chemistry (Doctoral Degrees)
  • Year 1: $107,442
  • Year 2: $63,005
  • Year 3: $112,973
Optometry (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $74,750
  • Year 2: $91,363
  • Year 3: $104,601
Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $95,600
  • Year 2: $85,760
  • Year 3: $103,738
Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $71,282
  • Year 2: $65,387
  • Year 3: $102,543

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.
Grand Canyon University GCU vs University of Arizona University of Arizona
Grand Canyon University GCU vs Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University
Grand Canyon University GCU vs Biola University Biola University
Grand Canyon University GCU vs California State University-Northridge California State University-Northridge
Grand Canyon University GCU vs University of California-Berkeley University of California-Berkeley
Grand Canyon University GCU vs The Master's University and Seminary The Master's University and Seminary
Grand Canyon University GCU vs Regis University Regis University
Grand Canyon University GCU vs Post University Post University
Grand Canyon University GCU vs Northwestern University Northwestern University
Grand Canyon University GCU vs Waldorf University Waldorf University
Grand Canyon University GCU vs Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University
Grand Canyon University GCU vs Harvard University Harvard University
Grand Canyon University GCU vs Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Grand Canyon University GCU vs Rasmussen University-Minnesota Rasmussen University-Minnesota
Grand Canyon University GCU vs Bellevue University Bellevue University
Grand Canyon University GCU vs University of Nevada-Reno University of Nevada-Reno
Grand Canyon University GCU vs Regent University Regent University
Grand Canyon University GCU vs City University of Seattle City University of Seattle
Grand Canyon University GCU vs Stanford University Stanford University
Grand Canyon University GCU vs University of Advancing Technology University of Advancing Technology
Grand Canyon University GCU vs University of Phoenix-Hawaii University of Phoenix-Hawaii
Grand Canyon University GCU vs Grantham University Grantham University
Grand Canyon University GCU vs Chamberlain University-Arizona Chamberlain University-Arizona
Grand Canyon University GCU vs The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles
Grand Canyon University GCU vs Los Angeles Pacific University Los Angeles Pacific University
Grand Canyon University GCU vs South University-Savannah Online South University-Savannah Online
Grand Canyon University GCU vs Colorado State University-Global Campus Colorado State University-Global Campus
Grand Canyon University GCU vs DeVry University-Arizona DeVry University-Arizona
Grand Canyon University GCU vs DeVry University-Texas DeVry University-Texas
Grand Canyon University GCU vs University of Phoenix-California University of Phoenix-California
Grand Canyon University GCU vs University of Phoenix-Nevada University of Phoenix-Nevada
Grand Canyon University GCU vs University of Phoenix-Texas University of Phoenix-Texas
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs University of Arizona University of Arizona
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs California Institute of Technology California Institute of Technology
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs University of Colorado Boulder University of Colorado Boulder
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs University of Connecticut University of Connecticut
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs University of Delaware University of Delaware
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs Florida State University Florida State University
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs Iowa State University Iowa State University
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs University of Maine University of Maine
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs United States Naval Academy United States Naval Academy
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs University of Massachusetts-Amherst University of Massachusetts-Amherst
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs University of New Hampshire-Main Campus University of New Hampshire-Main Campus
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs Rutgers University-New Brunswick Rutgers University-New Brunswick
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs Jewish Theological Seminary of America Jewish Theological Seminary of America
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs Binghamton University Binghamton University
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs University of Rhode Island University of Rhode Island
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs The University of Texas at Dallas The University of Texas at Dallas
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs Texas Tech University Texas Tech University
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs Brigham Young University Brigham Young University
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs DeVry University-California DeVry University-California
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley vs DeVry University-Nevada DeVry University-Nevada