College of the Atlantic vs. Shaw University

College of the Atlantic vs. Shaw University comparison

	College of the Atlantic	Shaw University	College 3	College 4
	Remove	Remove	+Add	+Add
Overview	College of the Atlantic	Shaw University
Location	Bar Harbor, ME	Raleigh, NC
Setting	Rural Fringe	Large City
Enrollment	367	962
Type	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year
National Ranking
Religious Affiliation	-	Baptist	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	coa.edu	shawu.edu
Team Colors

Costs	College of the Atlantic	Shaw University
Tuition (In State)	$45,630	$12,408
Tuition (Out of State)	$45,630	$12,408
Room & Board	$10,101	$8,940
Avg Net Price	$22,692	$14,111
Avg Grant Aid	$33,884	$15,568
% Receiving Grant Aid	98%	97%

Admission	College of the Atlantic	Shaw University
Admission Chances	Calculate	Calculate
Applied	446	10,699
Admitted	290	3,261
Acceptance Rate	65%	30.5%
Enrolled %	27.9%	5.7%
Avg High School GPA	3.69	2.6
Typical High School Grades	B+	C+
Admissions Standards	Unavailable	Unavailable
Applicant Competition	Low	High
ACT Range
SAT Range
Submit Test Scores	Not considered for admission, even if submitted (Test Blind)	Not considered for admission, even if submitted (Test Blind)
Application Deadline	Feb 1, 2026	Jul 30, 2026

Academics	College of the Atlantic	Shaw University
Student to Faculty Ratio	10:1	11:1
Popular Majors	General Studies (100%)	Business (27%) Human Services (14%) Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting (10%) Social Sciences (8%) Psychology (7%)
Outcomes	College of the Atlantic	Shaw University
Graduation Rate	71%	27%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$28,200	$29,000
Making Student Loan Payments	75%	15%
Median Student Loan Debt	$19,750	$38,000
Median Loan Payment	$204	$392

Diversity	College of the Atlantic	Shaw University
% Men	1%	5%
% Women	1%	7%
Racial Diversity	Low	High
HBCU	No	Yes
% White	72%	1%
% Black	1%	58%
% Hispanic	4%	0%
% Native American	0%	0%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	2%	0%
% International	17%	2%
% Unknown Race	1%	39%

Students	College of the Atlantic	Shaw University
% In-State	4%	55%
% Out-of-State	73%	34%
Campus	College of the Atlantic	Shaw University
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes
Freshman Dorm Required	Yes	No
Meal Plan	Yes	Yes
Weekend/Evening Classes	No	Yes
Daycare Facility	No	No
Learn More	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• Shaw University is larger than than College of the Atlantic based on total student enrollment (962 students vs. 367 students)

College of the Atlantic vs. Shaw University Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, College of the Atlantic or Shaw University?

• College of the Atlantic is 267.7% more expensive to attend than Shaw University for in-state tuition ($45,630.00 vs. $12,408.00)
• Out of state tuition is 267.7% higher at College of the Atlantic than Shaw University ($45,630.00 vs. $12,408.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Shaw University than College of the Atlantic ($14,111 vs. $22,692)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at Shaw University are 13% lower than costs at College of the Atlantic ($8,940 vs. $10,101)
• More students receive financial grant aid at College of the Atlantic than Shaw University (98% vs. 97%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by College of the Atlantic students is 117.7% larger than aid received Shaw University ($33,884 vs. $15,568)

College of the Atlantic vs. Shaw University Admissions Difficulty Comparison

Which college is harder to get into, College of the Atlantic or Shaw University? Average SAT and ACT scores plus acceptance rates offer good insight into the difficulty of admission between Shaw University or College of the Atlantic .

• Accepted freshman College of the Atlantic students have a 1.09 point higher average high school GPA (3.69) than students at Shaw University (2.6)
• College of the Atlantic has a higher acceptance rate (65%) than Shaw University (30.5%)

College of the Atlantic vs. Shaw University Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, College of the Atlantic or Shaw University? Graduation rate, salary and amount of student loan debt are indicators of a college which offers better outcomes for its graduates. Compare the following outcomes facts between Shaw University and College of the Atlantic.

• The graduation rate at College of the Atlantic is higher than Shaw University (71% vs. 27%)
• Graduates from Shaw University earn on average $800 more per year than College of the Atlantic graduates after ten years. ($29,000 vs. $28,200)
• College of the Atlantic students graduate with a $18,250 lower median federal student loan debt than Shaw University graduates. ($19,750 vs. $38,000)
• College of the Atlantic graduates are paying $188 less per month on federal student loans than Shaw University graduates. ($204 vs. $392)
• More College of the Atlantic graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former Shaw University students, three years after graduation. (75% vs. 15%)

Sources: U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov IPEDS and College Scorecard https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/