University of North Carolina at Asheville vs George Mason University (GMU)

Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA) and George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax, Virginia, stand as two distinct academic havens with unique offerings. UNCA, a public liberal arts university, boasts a tight-knit community and an acceptance rate of 79%, while GMU, a public research university, offers a wider range of programs and an acceptance rate of 73%. Both universities excel in different areas, with UNCA excelling in Environmental Science and GMU excelling in Engineering. UNCA's student body is predominantly White (73%) and female (58%), while GMU's student body is more diverse, with a larger population of Asian (18%) and Hispanic (13%) students. With UNCA's graduation rate at 62% and GMU's at 68%, both universities provide ample opportunities for students to succeed. Explore the detailed comparison table below
George Mason University logo

George Mason University

University of North Carolina at Asheville logo

University of North Carolina at Asheville

Overview

Location Fairfax, Virginia Asheville, North Carolina
Campus setting Suburb: Large City: Small
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 84.0% 75.0%
Common app member Yes Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission

Acceptance rate 91.3% 81.6%
Application fees
Undergraduate: $70

Graduate: $75
Undergraduate: $75

Graduate: $60
SAT range 1140 - 1350 1130 - 1330
ACT range 25 - 30 22 - 29
Students submitting SAT score 37.0% 17.0%
Students submitting ACT score 3.0% 33.0%
Total number of applicants 20,527 4,550
Total number of admissions given out 18,741 3,714
Admitted students who chose to enroll 3,986 605
Yield rate 21.3% 16.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Required Required
Recommendation letters Not required Required
High school transcript Not required Required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL) Required Required

Tuition and Fees

Sticker price
In state: $35,263

Out of state: $58,723
In state: $22,331

Out of state: $39,679
Average net price $18,841 $13,838
Tuition
In state: $9,510

Out of state: $32,970
In state: $4,122

Out of state: $21,470
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $7,620

Meal plan: $5,010
Room/dormitory: $5,778

Meal plan: $4,470
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Guaranteed tuition plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

70.0%
Average amount $10,110
90.0%
Average amount $7,610
Students receiving federal student loan 43.0%
Average amount $5,006
50.0%
Average amount $5,008
Students taking out private loans 6.0%
Average amount $18,474
6.0%
Average amount $10,387

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 26,882
Men 50.4% Women 49.6%
3,233
Men 42.5% Women 57.5%
Graduate students 11,746
Men 40.7% Women 59.3%
N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity
Moderate
Low
Out-of-state students 18.9% 15.8%
International students 8.0% 1.1%
Campus local/setting Suburb: Large City: Small
Dormitory capacity 6,513 1,575
First year students are required to live on campus? No No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from Virginia Maryland District of Columbia Pennsylvania New York North Carolina Florida South Carolina Virginia Georgia

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Education
  • Health Professions
  • Business
  • Computer and Information Science
  • Engineering
  • Health Professions
  • English Language and Literature
  • Visual & Performing Arts
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio 16:1 14:1
Institutional accreditation Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome

Graduation rate 70.1% 64.6%
Dropout rate 9.6% 9.5%
Transferred out 16.5% 25.1%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $96,837
  • Year 2: $109,763
  • Year 3: $127,586
Homeland Security (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $101,476
  • Year 2: $127,993
  • Year 3: $120,573
Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $101,886
  • Year 2: $99,709
  • Year 3: $117,377
Computer Engineering (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $112,424
  • Year 2: $101,072
  • Year 3: $115,693
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $98,841
  • Year 2: $105,585
  • Year 3: $113,896
Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $121,226
  • Year 2: $92,632
  • Year 3: $105,664
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees)
  • Year 1: $101,843
  • Year 2: $100,690
  • Year 3: $101,702
Medical Illustration and Informatics (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $78,386
  • Year 2: $84,653
  • Year 3: $101,604
Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $86,911
  • Year 2: $91,448
  • Year 3: $99,722
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $94,065
  • Year 2: $92,277
  • Year 3: $94,785
Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $51,950
  • Year 2: $58,885
  • Year 3: $63,274
Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $31,943
  • Year 2: $38,289
  • Year 3: $46,511
Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $25,020
  • Year 2: $25,194
  • Year 3: $43,063
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $35,424
  • Year 2: $32,711
  • Year 3: $38,410
Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $35,029
  • Year 2: $33,993
  • Year 3: $35,109
Visual and Performing Arts, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $19,487
  • Year 2: $25,596
  • Year 3: $34,805
Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $29,198
  • Year 2: $28,816
  • Year 3: $32,166
Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $22,208
  • Year 2: $24,164
  • Year 3: $31,326
Public Health (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $23,657
  • Year 2: $31,447
  • Year 3: $30,850
History (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $23,443
  • Year 2: $25,774
  • Year 3: $29,244

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