Mount Wachusett Community College (MWCC) vs Northern Essex Community College (NECC)

Mount Wachusett Community College and Northern Essex Community College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning in Massachusetts, offer diverse educational opportunities to students seeking a solid foundation for their academic and professional pursuits. While they share a commitment to providing accessible and affordable education, these colleges have distinct characteristics that set them apart. Mount Wachusett boasts a higher acceptance rate, making it a more accessible option for students from various backgrounds. Northern Essex, on the other hand, offers a wider range of academic programs, including popular majors like Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies, and Business Administration. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details about these colleges, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and more, to make an informed decision that aligns with your unique educational goals and aspirations.

	Mount Wachusett Community College	Northern Essex Community College
Overview
Location	Gardner, Massachusetts	Haverhill, Massachusetts
Campus setting	Rural: Fringe	Suburb: Large
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	57.0%	53.0%
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: $20,448 Out of state: $25,368	In state: $22,584 Out of state: $28,368
Average net price	$8,309	$7,753
Tuition	In state: $600 Out of state: $5,520	In state: $600 Out of state: $6,384
Room & board
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan Other alternative tuition plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	79.0% Average amount $5,726	69.0% Average amount $4,769
Students receiving federal student loan	21.0% Average amount $4,113	13.0% Average amount $3,322
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $5,115	1.0% Average amount $6,930

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,156 Men 32.0% Women 68.0%	4,770 Men 34.4% Women 65.6%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	0.4%	0.9%
Campus local/setting	Rural: Fringe	Suburb: Large
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	New Hampshire Indiana Maine Michigan Mississippi	Mississippi New Hampshire Connecticut Florida New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Liberal Arts Business Public Administration and Social Service Law Enforcement and Firefighting	Health Professions Business Liberal Arts Computer and Information Science Law Enforcement and Firefighting
Students to faculty ratio	13:1	20:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	21.4%	14.4%
Dropout rate	52.9%	55.5%
Transferred out	13.8%	11.8%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $58,980 Year 2: $61,814 Year 3: $66,205 Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $52,952 Year 2: $56,157 Year 3: $60,133 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $50,109 Year 2: $55,547 Year 3: $54,501 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $31,375 Year 2: $30,409 Year 3: $36,069 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $35,431 Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: $35,896 Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $44,405 Year 2: $37,054 Year 3: $35,453 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $22,072 Year 2: $22,700 Year 3: $24,279 Human Services, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $30,052 Year 2: $23,803 Year 3: $23,017 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $35,392 Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: N/A Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,967 Year 3: N/A	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $59,742 Year 2: $65,905 Year 3: $74,336 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $50,816 Year 2: $53,179 Year 3: $56,134 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $41,228 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $50,699 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $36,616 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $41,881 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $37,962 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $38,452 Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $30,206 Year 2: $30,228 Year 3: $35,993 Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $32,036 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $33,330 Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $33,770 Year 2: $31,423 Year 3: $31,985 Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,763 Year 3: $31,288 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $30,533

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.