Charleston Southern vs Davidson College

Charleston Southern University and Davidson College, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Charleston Southern, a private Christian university, boasts a 90% acceptance rate, while Davidson, a private liberal arts college, maintains a highly selective 22% acceptance rate. Charleston Southern's student body is predominantly White (68%) and female (58%), while Davidson's student body is more diverse, with a significant international student population (13%) and a balanced gender ratio. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors at Charleston Southern including Business, Education, and Nursing, and popular majors at Davidson including Economics, English, and Biology. With graduation rates of 58% and 89% respectively, both institutions provide ample opportunities for students to succeed and achieve their academic goals. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two exceptional institutions and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Charleston Southern University	Davidson College
Overview
Location	Charleston, South Carolina	Davidson, North Carolina
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	4-1-4	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	68.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Baptist	Presbyterian

Admission
Acceptance rate	57.2%	17.8%
Application fees		$50
SAT range	990 - 1200	N/A
ACT range	18 - 23	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	50.0%
Students submitting ACT score	39.0%
Total number of applicants	3,940	6,434
Total number of admissions given out	2,254	1,145
Admitted students who chose to enroll	690	547
Yield rate	30.6%	47.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$42,500	$73,200
Average net price	$18,182	$25,794
Tuition	$28,630	$54,460
Room & board	$11,032	Room/dormitory: $7,700 Meal plan: $7,525
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $22,425	64.0% Average amount $47,889
Students receiving federal student loan	56.0% Average amount $5,238	10.0% Average amount $5,095
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $10,921	2.0% Average amount $33,219

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,725 Men 35.6% Women 64.4%	1,973 Men 47.2% Women 52.8%
Graduate students	616 Men 36.7% Women 63.3%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	23.5%	76.8%
International students	2.3%	8.2%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,424	1,830
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	South Carolina North Carolina Georgia Florida Pennsylvania	North Carolina Virginia Texas New Jersey Florida

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Psychology Physical Science Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Ethnic Studies
Students to faculty ratio	13:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	49.3%	89.6%
Dropout rate	49.7%	10.0%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,078 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $80,916 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,709 Year 2: $59,425 Year 3: $64,433 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,982 Year 2: $56,867 Year 3: $57,626 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,309 Year 2: $46,589 Year 3: $54,442 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $44,112 Year 2: $48,198 Year 3: $53,093 Human Resources Management and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,775 Year 2: $36,674 Year 3: $48,261 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $45,715 Year 3: $47,106 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,190 Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: $38,459 Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,781 Year 2: $32,284 Year 3: $34,518 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,345 Year 2: $32,391 Year 3: $31,620	Economics (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $60,797 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $80,388 Political Science and Government (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $42,752 Year 2: $45,715 Year 3: $53,747 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $43,240 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $41,099 Year 2: $35,330 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,670 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $34,292 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: N/A Anthropology (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: N/A History (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,075 Year 3: N/A

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