Western Kentucky University (WKU) vs Western Carolina University (WCU)

Western Kentucky University (WKU) and Western Carolina University (WCU) are two public universities located in the southeastern United States, each offering a unique educational experience. WKU, situated in Bowling Green, Kentucky, boasts a larger student body and a higher acceptance rate compared to WCU, which is nestled in Cullowhee, North Carolina. While both universities offer a diverse range of academic programs, WKU excels in fields like business, education, and nursing, while WCU shines in areas such as health sciences, engineering, and music. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further distinctions between these two institutions, including student demographics, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your decision in choosing the best fit for your academic and personal aspirations.

	Western Carolina University	Western Kentucky University
Overview
Location	Cullowhee, North Carolina	Bowling Green, Kentucky
Campus setting	Town: Distant	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	75.0%	73.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	79.4%	98.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65	Undergraduate: $45 Graduate: $65
SAT range	1060 - 1230	N/A
ACT range	19 - 25	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	12.0%
Students submitting ACT score	43.0%
Total number of applicants	12,308	7,255
Total number of admissions given out	9,775	7,145
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,729	2,832
Yield rate	17.7%	39.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $19,349 Out of state: $23,349	In state: $27,895 Out of state: $43,903
Average net price	$13,082	$12,395
Tuition	In state: $1,000 Out of state: $5,000	In state: $10,992 Out of state: $27,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,403 Meal plan: $5,029	Room/dormitory: $6,744 Meal plan: $3,964
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	73.0% Average amount $5,772	98.0% Average amount $9,576
Students receiving federal student loan	56.0% Average amount $4,850	47.0% Average amount $5,128
Students taking out private loans	9.0% Average amount $9,396	5.0% Average amount $9,983

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	10,145 Men 43.6% Women 56.4%	14,729 Men 37.8% Women 62.2%
Graduate students	1,732 Men 32.1% Women 67.9%	2,021 Men 34.1% Women 65.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	17.7%	N/A
International students	1.7%	1.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	3,815	4,942
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Tennessee	Tennessee Indiana Illinois Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Business Public Administration and Social Service Engineering Technologies	Health Professions Business Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Public Administration and Social Service
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	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	61.4%	53.6%
Dropout rate	10.2%	22.1%
Transferred out	27.5%	22.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,321 Year 2: $103,913 Year 3: $103,661 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,207 Year 2: $64,990 Year 3: $72,372 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,769 Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $72,367 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $65,460 Year 2: $67,324 Year 3: $68,635 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,202 Year 2: $58,221 Year 3: $64,334 Engineering Technology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,173 Year 2: $54,996 Year 3: $63,171 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $64,798 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $61,637 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,571 Year 2: $55,512 Year 3: $59,030 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,835 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $58,930 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,362 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $57,003	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $76,015 Year 2: $86,696 Year 3: $95,431 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $71,960 Year 2: $76,998 Year 3: $77,293 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,199 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $77,197 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,704 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $68,358 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,193 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $66,850 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,992 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $65,815 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,607 Year 2: $61,144 Year 3: $65,553 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,759 Year 2: $51,551 Year 3: $57,443 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $53,729 Year 2: $52,897 Year 3: $56,104 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,172 Year 2: $56,281 Year 3: $55,609

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Western Kentucky University (WKU) vs Western Carolina University (WCU)

Western Carolina University

Western Kentucky University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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