Palomar vs Rio Salado

Palomar College and Rio Salado College, both esteemed community colleges in California and Arizona respectively, offer diverse educational opportunities for students seeking higher education. While they share similarities in providing affordable tuition, flexible learning options, and a wide range of programs, they also possess distinct characteristics that cater to different student needs. Palomar College boasts a higher acceptance rate, allowing more students the chance to pursue their academic goals. Rio Salado College, on the other hand, excels in online education, making it an ideal choice for those seeking a flexible learning environment. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details about these institutions, including popular majors, student body demographics, graduation rates, and more, to determine which college best aligns with your unique educational aspirations.

	Palomar College	Rio Salado College
Overview
Location	San Marcos, California	Tempe, Arizona
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: Midsize
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	66.0%	37.0%
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: $29,408 Out of state: $38,004	In state: $14,542 Out of state: $20,326
Average net price	$6,659	$9,426
Tuition	In state: $1,288 Out of state: $9,884	In state: $2,040 Out of state: $7,824
Room & board
Available payment plans		Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	79.0% Average amount $4,544	71.0% Average amount $5,379
Students receiving federal student loan	0.0% Average amount $2,598	26.0% Average amount $4,710
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $0	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	17,566 Men 51.0% Women 49.0%	15,682 Men 40.6% Women 59.4%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	6.7%	12.0%
International students	0.6%	0.2%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Midsize
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	Arizona California Texas Louisiana Alabama

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Social Sciences Health Professions Business Law Enforcement and Firefighting	Law Enforcement and Firefighting Business Liberal Arts Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	22:1	25:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	29.1%	8.5%
Dropout rate	46.1%	64.9%
Transferred out	10.8%	20.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $77,544 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $68,079 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $44,438 Social Sciences, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $24,035 Year 3: $29,028 Electrical and Power Transmission Installers (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $84,691 Year 3: N/A	Criminal Justice and Corrections (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $42,986 Year 2: $41,884 Year 3: $44,530 Business Operations Support and Assistant Services (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $42,922 Year 2: $34,348 Year 3: $39,074 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $37,704 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: $34,090 Legal Support Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,047 Year 3: $28,264 Data Processing (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,938 Year 3: N/A Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: N/A

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.

Palomar vs Rio Salado

Palomar College

Rio Salado College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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