South Mountain Community College vs Rio Salado

South Mountain Community College and Rio Salado College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning in Arizona, offer unique educational experiences tailored to diverse student needs. South Mountain, with an acceptance rate of 100%, welcomes all aspiring learners, while Rio Salado's selective admissions process results in a 78% acceptance rate. South Mountain's student body is predominantly female (62%), while Rio Salado boasts a more balanced gender distribution (52% female, 48% male). Both colleges offer a wide range of programs, with popular majors including Business, Health Professions, and Liberal Arts. However, Rio Salado excels in online learning, with over 80% of its courses offered virtually, compared to South Mountain's 25%. Discover which college aligns best with your academic goals and learning preferences by exploring the detailed comparison table below.

	Rio Salado College	South Mountain Community College
Overview
Location	Tempe, Arizona	Phoenix, Arizona
Campus setting	City: Midsize	City: Large
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	37.0%	68.0%
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: $14,542 Out of state: $20,326	In state: $22,506 Out of state: $28,290
Average net price	$9,426	$10,960
Tuition	In state: $2,040 Out of state: $7,824	In state: $2,040 Out of state: $7,824
Room & board
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	71.0% Average amount $5,379	77.0% Average amount $4,928
Students receiving federal student loan	26.0% Average amount $4,710	8.0% Average amount $3,745
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $0	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	15,682 Men 40.6% Women 59.4%	3,597 Men 39.3% Women 60.7%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	12.0%	1.3%
International students	0.2%	0.5%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	City: 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	Arizona California Texas Louisiana Alabama	Arizona Nebraska Texas Utah

Academics
Popular study areas	Law Enforcement and Firefighting Business Liberal Arts Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science	Liberal Arts Visual & Performing Arts Computer and Information Science Business Multidisciplinary Studies
Students to faculty ratio	25:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	8.5%	16.3%
Dropout rate	64.9%	45.6%
Transferred out	20.2%	23.1%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Criminal Justice and Corrections (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $42,986 Year 2: $41,884 Year 3: $44,530 Business Operations Support and Assistant Services (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $42,922 Year 2: $34,348 Year 3: $39,074 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $37,704 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: $34,090 Legal Support Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,047 Year 3: $28,264 Data Processing (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,938 Year 3: N/A Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: N/A	Fine and Studio Arts (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,485 Year 3: $21,256

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South Mountain Community College vs Rio Salado

Rio Salado College

South Mountain Community College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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