Prairie State College vs Housatonic Community College

Prairie State College and Housatonic Community College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Prairie State, nestled in Chicago Heights, Illinois, boasts an acceptance rate of 100%, welcoming all aspiring students with open arms. Housatonic, located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, is slightly more selective, with an acceptance rate of 98%. While Prairie State's student body is predominantly African American (54%) and Hispanic (29%), Housatonic's student population is more diverse, with a significant Hispanic (38%) and White (34%) population. Both colleges offer a wide range of programs, with popular majors at Prairie State including Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies, and Business, while Housatonic excels in Health Professions and Related Programs, Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services. With graduation rates of 22% and 25% respectively, both institutions are committed to student success and providing the necessary resources for their students to thrive

	Housatonic Community College	Prairie State College
Overview
Location	Bridgeport, Connecticut	Chicago Heights, Illinois
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	51.0%	53.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	Open Admission	Open Admission
Application fees	$20
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
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: $27,364 Out of state: $36,316	In state: $25,562 Out of state: $27,284
Average net price	$7,024	$7,059
Tuition	In state: $3,984 Out of state: $11,952	In state: $8,610 Out of state: $10,332
Room & board
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	86.0% Average amount $7,175	60.0% Average amount $6,684
Students receiving federal student loan	1.0% Average amount $3,718	5.0% Average amount $5,749
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $0	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,604 Men 36.4% Women 63.6%	2,618 Men 34.9% Women 65.1%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	0.5%	2.1%
International students	0.3%	1.4%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
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	Connecticut New York	Illinois Indiana Missouri

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Liberal Arts Business Education Precision Production	Liberal Arts Health Professions Computer and Information Science Automotive Technology Law Enforcement and Firefighting
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	11.7%	16.9%
Dropout rate	47.4%	51.8%
Transferred out	12.3%	20.1%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Engineering Technology, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $35,701 Year 3: $41,386 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $27,212 Year 2: $28,236 Year 3: $36,048 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,960 Year 3: $31,619 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $28,612 Year 2: $28,236 Year 3: $29,888 Business/Commerce, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $31,163 Year 2: $24,615 Year 3: $28,736 Precision Metal Working (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,021 Year 3: N/A Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: N/A Accounting and Related Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $18,315 Year 3: N/A	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $58,132 Year 2: $56,867 Year 3: $60,449 Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $48,414 Year 2: $53,697 Year 3: $57,487 Health/Medical Preparatory Programs (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $23,649 Year 3: $24,160 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $29,171 Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: $24,036 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $37,124 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $17,950 Year 3: N/A

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