Western Piedmont Community College (WPCC) vs Mountain Empire Community College (MECC)

Western Piedmont Community College and Mountain Empire Community College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer diverse educational opportunities to students in North Carolina. While they share a commitment to academic excellence, they also possess distinct characteristics that cater to different student needs. Western Piedmont boasts a higher acceptance rate, welcoming a broader range of students, while Mountain Empire maintains a more selective admissions process. In terms of student demographics, Western Piedmont's student body is predominantly female, whereas Mountain Empire's is more evenly balanced between genders. As for popular majors, Western Piedmont excels in Business, Health Professions, and Public Safety, while Mountain Empire shines in Engineering, Education, and Liberal Arts. To further explore these differences and discover which college aligns best with your academic aspirations, delve into the comprehensive comparison table provided on this page.

	Mountain Empire Community College	Western Piedmont Community College
Overview
Location	Big Stone Gap, Virginia	Morganton, North Carolina
Campus setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	68.0%	58.0%
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: $20,599 Out of state: $26,743
Average net price	$8,803	$5,965
Tuition	In state: $4,620 Out of state: $9,918	In state: $2,432 Out of state: $8,576
Room & board
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $5,590	76.0% Average amount $9,469
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%	1,670 Men 34.9% Women 65.1%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	1.0%	0.0%
International students	0.1%	0.4%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
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	North Carolina

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Liberal Arts Engineering Technologies Law Enforcement and Firefighting Construction Trades	Liberal Arts Health Professions Law Enforcement and Firefighting Engineering Technologies Business
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	9:1
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%	50.6%
Dropout rate	45.6%	24.4%
Transferred out	3.7%	11.4%
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	Criminal Justice and Corrections (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $31,229 Year 2: $36,085 Year 3: $40,245 Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $26,628 Year 2: $25,484 Year 3: $26,872 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $20,175 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $23,378 Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $27,995 Year 3: N/A Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $53,843 Year 2: $61,218 Year 3: N/A

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Western Piedmont Community College (WPCC) vs Mountain Empire Community College (MECC)

Mountain Empire Community College

Western Piedmont Community College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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