Southwest Virginia Community College (SwVCC) vs Mountain Empire Community College (MECC)

Southwest Virginia Community College (SWCC) and Mountain Empire Community College (MECC) stand out as two prominent community colleges in Virginia, each offering unique educational opportunities. While both institutions share a commitment to providing quality education, they differ in several key aspects. SWCC boasts a higher acceptance rate, making it a more accessible option for students. In contrast, MECC has a slightly higher graduation rate, indicating a strong focus on student success. When it comes to popular majors, SWCC excels in programs like Business Administration and Management, while MECC shines in fields such as Health Professions and Related Programs. Additionally, the student body demographics vary, with SWCC having a larger proportion of female students and MECC having a higher percentage of students receiving Pell Grants. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve deeper into these differences and discover which college aligns best with your academic goals and preferences.

	Mountain Empire Community College	Southwest Virginia Community College
Overview
Location	Big Stone Gap, Virginia	Cedar Bluff, Virginia
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Rural: Fringe
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	68.0%	51.0%
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: $14,385 Out of state: $20,388	In state: $19,133 Out of state: $25,136
Average net price	$8,803	$8,669
Tuition	In state: $4,620 Out of state: $9,918	In state: $4,620 Out of state: $9,918
Room & board
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $5,590	98.0% Average amount $5,504
Students receiving federal student loan	0.0% Average amount $0
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $3,006

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,079 Men 37.3% Women 62.7%	2,135 Men 35.9% Women 64.1%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	1.0%	8.2%
International students	0.1%	0.2%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Rural: Fringe
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	Virginia Tennessee	Virginia West Virginia Tennessee North Carolina

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Liberal Arts Engineering Technologies Law Enforcement and Firefighting Construction Trades	Liberal Arts Health Professions Precision Production Family and Consumer Sciences Business
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	19:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	44.1%	34.6%
Dropout rate	45.6%	48.7%
Transferred out	3.7%	7.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $49,999 Year 2: $50,161 Year 3: $52,521 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $39,541 Year 2: $36,166 Year 3: $41,849 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: $30,684 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $15,964 Year 3: $21,826 Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $18,788 Year 2: $19,508 Year 3: $21,200 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $31,719 Year 2: $35,600 Year 3: N/A Criminal Justice and Corrections (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $30,449 Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: N/A Business Operations Support and Assistant Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $24,047 Year 2: $20,824 Year 3: N/A	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $50,932 Year 2: $55,151 Year 3: $50,342 Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $26,400 Year 2: $41,937 Year 3: $46,541 Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $22,336 Year 2: $20,596 Year 3: $23,477 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $13,601 Year 2: $16,345 Year 3: $21,365 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $26,609 Year 2: $28,792 Year 3: N/A Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: N/A

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Southwest Virginia Community College (SwVCC) vs Mountain Empire Community College (MECC)

Mountain Empire Community College

Southwest Virginia Community College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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