Marshall University vs Western Carolina University (WCU)

Marshall University and Western Carolina University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Marshall, located in Huntington, West Virginia, boasts a higher acceptance rate (86%) compared to Western Carolina's 73% in Cullowhee, North Carolina. While Marshall's student body is more diverse, with a larger international student population, Western Carolina has a slightly higher graduation rate (62% vs. 59%). Explore the comprehensive comparison table to delve into further details, including popular majors, student demographics, and additional factors that may influence your decision in choosing the university that best aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Marshall University	Western Carolina University
Overview
Location	Huntington, West Virginia	Cullowhee, North Carolina
Campus setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
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	71.0%	75.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	97.8%	79.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $40	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	930 - 1150	1060 - 1230
ACT range	19 - 25	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score	56.0%	12.0%
Students submitting ACT score	70.0%	43.0%
Total number of applicants	5,602	12,308
Total number of admissions given out	5,479	9,775
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,596	1,729
Yield rate	29.1%	17.7%
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	In state: $22,993 Out of state: $34,047	In state: $19,349 Out of state: $23,349
Average net price	$8,730	$13,082
Tuition	In state: $7,190 Out of state: $18,244	In state: $1,000 Out of state: $5,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,724 Meal plan: $4,330	Room/dormitory: $6,403 Meal plan: $5,029
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	91.0% Average amount $10,973	73.0% Average amount $5,772
Students receiving federal student loan	46.0% Average amount $5,033	56.0% Average amount $4,850
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $10,103	9.0% Average amount $9,396

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,008 Men 41.4% Women 58.6%	10,145 Men 43.6% Women 56.4%
Graduate students	3,015 Men 34.4% Women 65.6%	1,732 Men 32.1% Women 67.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	21.6%	17.7%
International students	1.6%	1.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	2,339	3,815
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	West Virginia Ohio District of Columbia Virginia	North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Tennessee

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Business Liberal Arts Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Health Professions Education Business Public Administration and Social Service Engineering Technologies
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	52.2%	61.4%
Dropout rate	18.9%	10.2%
Transferred out	26.2%	27.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $178,140 Year 2: $185,138 Year 3: $194,626 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $110,434 Year 2: $121,632 Year 3: $123,370 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $93,290 Year 2: $87,183 Year 3: $92,283 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $71,586 Year 2: $73,635 Year 3: $78,893 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,929 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $63,850 Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $55,233 Year 2: $57,087 Year 3: $63,436 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $42,991 Year 2: $55,512 Year 3: $59,064 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,473 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $57,835 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $54,506 Year 2: $58,823 Year 3: $57,647 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,675 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $57,619	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,321 Year 2: $103,913 Year 3: $103,661 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,207 Year 2: $64,990 Year 3: $72,372 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,769 Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $72,367 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $65,460 Year 2: $67,324 Year 3: $68,635 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,202 Year 2: $58,221 Year 3: $64,334 Engineering Technology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,173 Year 2: $54,996 Year 3: $63,171 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $64,798 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $61,637 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,571 Year 2: $55,512 Year 3: $59,030 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,835 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $58,930 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,362 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $57,003

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