Southern Union State Community College vs Lawson State Community College

Southern Union State Community College and Lawson State Community College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to students in Alabama. Southern Union, located in Wadley, boasts an acceptance rate of 100%, welcoming all aspiring learners with open arms. Lawson State, situated in Birmingham, maintains a slightly more selective admissions process, with an acceptance rate of 98%. While Southern Union's student body is predominantly African American (70%), Lawson State's student population is more diverse, with a significant African American population (68%) alongside a notable presence of White (19%) and Hispanic (8%) students. Both colleges offer a wide range of academic programs, with popular majors including Business, Health Professions, and Education. However, Lawson State distinguishes itself with a higher graduation rate (33%) compared to Southern Union's 22%. To help you make an informed decision about your educational journey, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table below, highlighting key

	Lawson State Community College	Southern Union State Community College
Overview
Location	Birmingham, Alabama	Wadley, Alabama
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Rural: Remote
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	62.0%	66.0%
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: $20,527 Out of state: $24,217	In state: $18,010 Out of state: $21,700
Average net price	$6,342	$9,066
Tuition	In state: $3,690 Out of state: $7,380	In state: $3,690 Out of state: $7,380
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $3,000 Meal plan: $1,760	Room/dormitory: $1,160 Meal plan: $2,040
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $7,554	71.0% Average amount $7,708
Students receiving federal student loan		22.0% Average amount $4,983
Students taking out private loans		2.0% Average amount $5,746

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,094 Men 33.8% Women 66.2%	4,069 Men 43.6% Women 56.4%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	2.4%	8.3%
International students	0.4%	1.1%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Rural: Remote
Dormitory capacity	156	460
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Alabama Georgia Florida Indiana Louisiana	Alabama Georgia Florida Texas California

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Health Professions Engineering Technologies Automotive Technology Business	Liberal Arts Health Professions Automotive Technology Engineering Technologies Precision Production
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	18:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	24.7%	16.4%
Dropout rate	52.4%	34.4%
Transferred out	14.9%	44.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $38,437 Year 2: $40,461 Year 3: $41,962 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $34,437 Environmental Control Technologies/Technicians (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: $29,303 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $23,818 Year 2: $20,687 Year 3: $23,872 Precision Metal Working (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $42,615 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $59,340 Year 2: $50,856 Year 3: N/A	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $53,094 Year 2: $48,752 Year 3: $52,602 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $34,891 Year 2: $33,007 Year 3: $40,013 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $21,818 Year 2: $19,891 Year 3: $27,722 Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $18,219 Year 2: $15,552 Year 3: N/A Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $16,786 Year 3: N/A Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $48,041 Year 3: N/A Precision Metal Working (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: N/A Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,409 Year 3: N/A Business Operations Support and Assistant Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,420 Year 3: N/A

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