Washington University in St Louis (WashU) vs University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC)

When it comes to choosing the right university, Washington University in St Louis and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill stand out as two exceptional options. With acceptance rates of 15% and 24%, respectively, both universities are highly selective, attracting top students from across the nation. While Washington University boasts a smaller student body, fostering a close-knit community, UNC-Chapel Hill offers a larger and more diverse student population. Both universities excel in academics, with popular majors ranging from business and engineering to social sciences and humanities. However, UNC-Chapel Hill has a slightly higher graduation rate, with 89% of students completing their degrees within six years compared to Washington University's 87%. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two prestigious institutions. Dive into the details and discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill logo

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Washington University in St Louis logo

Washington University in St Louis

Overview

Location Chapel Hill, North Carolina Saint Louis, Missouri
Campus setting City: Small Suburb: Large
College type 4 year 4 year
Control/business model Public Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system Semester Semester
Degrees offered Undergraduate and Graduate Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate 97.0% 96.0%
Common app member Yes No
Religious affiliation

Admission

Acceptance rate 20.4% 13.0%
Application fees
Undergraduate: $85

Graduate: $95
Undergraduate: $75

Graduate: $45
SAT range 1140 - 1380 1490 - 1570
ACT range 22 - 27 33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score 2.0% 25.0%
Students submitting ACT score 12.0% 41.0%
Total number of applicants 50,729 33,634
Total number of admissions given out 10,348 4,373
Admitted students who chose to enroll 4,690 1,980
Yield rate 45.3% 45.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Required Not required
Recommendation letters Required Required
High school transcript Not required Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL) Required Not required

Tuition and Fees

Sticker price
In state: $24,770

Out of state: $52,633
$81,620
Average net price $11,508 $28,298
Tuition
In state: $7,019

Out of state: $34,882
$57,750
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $6,878

Meal plan: $5,004
Room/dormitory: $12,350

Meal plan: $5,550
Available payment plans
  • Guaranteed tuition plan
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Prepaid tuition plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

42.0%
Average amount $16,076
44.0%
Average amount $51,288
Students receiving federal student loan 17.0%
Average amount $4,244
14.0%
Average amount $4,790
Students taking out private loans 3.0%
Average amount $14,032
2.0%
Average amount $25,095

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 19,845
Men 39.6% Women 60.4%
8,034
Men 46.4% Women 53.6%
Graduate students 11,796
Men 41.4% Women 58.6%
8,939
Men 47.6% Women 52.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Low
Moderate
Out-of-state students 16.2% 88.2%
International students 6.8% 26.1%
Campus local/setting City: Small Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity 9,984 6,826
First year students are required to live on campus? No No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from North Carolina Georgia Maryland New York Pennsylvania California Missouri New York Illinois Florida

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Health Professions
  • Business
  • Social Sciences
  • Public Administration and Social Service
  • Multidisciplinary Studies
  • Business
  • Legal Profession
  • Engineering
  • Health Professions
  • Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio 15:1 7:1
Institutional accreditation Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Higher Learning Commission

Outcome

Graduation rate 90.5% 93.1%
Dropout rate 3.7% 6.5%
Transferred out 5.4% N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $168,979
  • Year 2: N/A
  • Year 3: $238,213
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $135,965
  • Year 2: $127,836
  • Year 3: $150,089
Dentistry (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $116,248
  • Year 2: $82,440
  • Year 3: $128,102
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $67,961
  • Year 2: $103,078
  • Year 3: $117,488
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $89,271
  • Year 2: $86,036
  • Year 3: $96,602
Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $74,162
  • Year 2: $72,083
  • Year 3: $95,204
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $74,938
  • Year 2: $73,823
  • Year 3: $89,917
Law (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $71,557
  • Year 2: $57,770
  • Year 3: $87,057
Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $64,899
  • Year 2: $67,660
  • Year 3: $86,155
Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $68,205
  • Year 2: $68,666
  • Year 3: $82,520
Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $89,930
  • Year 2: $99,517
  • Year 3: $149,178
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $108,627
  • Year 2: $112,270
  • Year 3: $125,369
Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $83,311
  • Year 2: $91,744
  • Year 3: $123,261
Law (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $90,605
  • Year 2: $80,755
  • Year 3: $115,101
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $92,604
  • Year 2: $85,538
  • Year 3: $96,865
Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $66,886
  • Year 2: $67,995
  • Year 3: $82,126
Medicine (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $57,989
  • Year 2: $58,334
  • Year 3: $73,030
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $65,467
  • Year 2: $64,379
  • Year 3: $68,070
Public Health (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $48,193
  • Year 2: $52,107
  • Year 3: $66,777
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $67,699
  • Year 2: $63,997
  • Year 3: $66,289

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University of Alabama at Birmingham University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs The University of Alabama The University of Alabama
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs Auburn University Auburn University
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University of Arizona University of Arizona
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University of California-Berkeley University of California-Berkeley
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University of Colorado Boulder University of Colorado Boulder
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University of Connecticut University of Connecticut
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University of Delaware University of Delaware
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs Florida State University Florida State University
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University of Florida University of Florida
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University of Georgia University of Georgia
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs Iowa State University Iowa State University
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University of Iowa University of Iowa
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University of Kansas University of Kansas
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University of Kentucky University of Kentucky
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University of Maryland, Baltimore University of Maryland, Baltimore
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University of Maryland-College Park University of Maryland-College Park
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University of Michigan-Ann Arbor University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University of Missouri-Columbia University of Missouri-Columbia
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs Rutgers University-New Brunswick Rutgers University-New Brunswick
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University at Buffalo University at Buffalo
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University of North Dakota University of North Dakota
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs Clemson University Clemson University
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs Texas Tech University Texas Tech University
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs Brigham Young University Brigham Young University
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC vs University of Utah University of Utah
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs University of California-Berkeley University of California-Berkeley
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs University of Southern California University of Southern California
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs American University American University
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs Florida Institute of Technology Florida Institute of Technology
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs Emory University Emory University
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs University of Chicago University of Chicago
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs Northwestern University Northwestern University
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs University of Notre Dame University of Notre Dame
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs Tulane University of Louisiana Tulane University of Louisiana
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs University of Maryland-College Park University of Maryland-College Park
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs Boston College Boston College
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs Brandeis University Brandeis University
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs Harvard University Harvard University
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs Tufts University Tufts University
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs Wellesley College Wellesley College
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs University of Michigan-Ann Arbor University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs Dartmouth College Dartmouth College
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs University of Tulsa University of Tulsa
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs William & Mary William & Mary
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs University of Virginia-Main Campus University of Virginia-Main Campus
Washington University in St Louis WashU vs The Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University