Grand Canyon University (GCU) vs South University

Grand Canyon University (GCU) and South University-Savannah Online (SUSO) are two distinct institutions offering diverse educational opportunities. GCU, a private Christian university, boasts a higher acceptance rate (93%) compared to SUSO's 100% acceptance rate. GCU's student body is predominantly female (58%), while SUSO's is more evenly distributed (49% female, 51% male). Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, with GCU excelling in business, education, and nursing, and SUSO specializing in healthcare, business, and criminal justice. While GCU has a higher graduation rate (62%) than SUSO (56%), both institutions provide ample support services to help students succeed. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions and determine which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and goals.

	Grand Canyon University	South University-Savannah Online
Overview
Location	Phoenix, Arizona	Savannah, Georgia
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Midsize
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (For Profit)	Private (For Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Non Traditional
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	71.0%	40.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	82.8%	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	36,861
Total number of admissions given out	30,534
Admitted students who chose to enroll	7,620
Yield rate	25.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	Not required
High school GPA	Required	N/A
Recommendation letters	Not required	N/A
High school transcript	Not required	N/A
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	N/A

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$32,100	$30,568
Average net price	$21,644	$23,013
Tuition	$16,500	$14,400
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,300 Meal plan: $3,800
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $10,225	90.0% Average amount $5,213
Students receiving federal student loan	60.0% Average amount $5,346	85.0% Average amount $8,490
Students taking out private loans	8.0% Average amount $12,937	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	65,870 Men 29.3% Women 70.7%	4,751 Men 20.3% Women 79.7%
Graduate students	37,202 Men 22.5% Women 77.5%	1,973 Men 20.8% Women 79.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	73.1%	N/A
International students	1.2%	0.1%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	15,937	N/A
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	N/A
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Arizona California Washington Colorado Minnesota	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Business Psychology Computer and Information Science	Health Professions Business Psychology Law Enforcement and Firefighting Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	20:1	19:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	44.7%	5.2%
Dropout rate	52.9%	89.8%
Transferred out	N/A	2.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $117,397 Year 2: $119,061 Year 3: $125,189 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,451 Year 2: $96,705 Year 3: $100,941 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,965 Year 2: $87,641 Year 3: $91,610 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $78,940 Year 2: $77,476 Year 3: $80,825 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $75,319 Year 2: $66,821 Year 3: $68,008 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $65,248 Year 2: $64,265 Year 3: $66,703 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,382 Year 2: $57,047 Year 3: $64,355 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,308 Year 2: $59,621 Year 3: $62,793 Homeland Security (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,625 Year 2: $60,082 Year 3: $61,171 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,083 Year 2: $55,605 Year 3: $59,588	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $90,641 Year 2: $98,736 Year 3: $102,466 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,832 Year 2: $91,613 Year 3: $98,023 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,499 Year 2: $66,883 Year 3: $71,557 Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,218 Year 2: $60,839 Year 3: $62,890 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,002 Year 2: $42,799 Year 3: $48,444 Information Science/Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,831 Year 2: $44,418 Year 3: $46,834 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $43,629 Year 2: $45,207 Year 3: $44,849 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $41,016 Year 2: $41,007 Year 3: $43,418 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,748 Year 2: $39,986 Year 3: $42,014 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,655 Year 2: $34,420 Year 3: $36,209

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Grand Canyon University (GCU) vs South University

Grand Canyon University

South University-Savannah Online

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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