Gwynedd Mercy College vs. Penn State Wilkes-Barre

Gwynedd Mercy College vs. Penn State Wilkes Barre comparison

	Gwynedd Mercy College	Penn State Wilkes Barre	College 3	College 4
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Overview	Gwynedd Mercy College	Penn State Wilkes-Barre
Location	Gwynedd Valley, PA	Lehman, PA
Setting	Large Suburban	Rural Fringe
Enrollment	2,165	353
Type	Private 4 Year	Public 4 Year
National Ranking	#510
Religious Affiliation	Roman Catholic	-	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	gmc.edu	psu.edu
Team Colors

Costs	Gwynedd Mercy College	Penn State Wilkes-Barre
Tuition (In State)	$37,140	$13,824
Tuition (Out of State)	$37,140	$23,316
Room & Board	$14,142	$13,448
Avg Net Price	$26,733	$16,275
Avg Grant Aid	$25,995	$8,945
% Receiving Grant Aid	100%	91%

Admission	Gwynedd Mercy College	Penn State Wilkes-Barre
Admission Chances	Calculate	Calculate
Applied	1,111	640
Admitted	1,040	605
Acceptance Rate	93.6%	94.5%
Enrolled %	17.7%	14.9%
Avg High School GPA	3.34	-
Typical High School Grades	B+	-
Admissions Standards	Easy	Challenging
Applicant Competition
ACT Range
SAT Range	1048/1180	1060/1305
Submit Test Scores	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)
Application Deadline	Aug 20, 2026

Academics	Gwynedd Mercy College	Penn State Wilkes-Barre
Student to Faculty Ratio	9:1	10:1
Popular Majors	Health Professions (46%) Business (33%) Education (10%) Biology (2%) Psychology (2%)	Business (34%) Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting (28%) Engineering Technology (19%) English and Literature (12%) Liberal Arts and Humanities (5%)
Outcomes	Gwynedd Mercy College	Penn State Wilkes-Barre
Graduation Rate	52%	47%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$56,600	$55,300
Making Student Loan Payments	63%	69%
Median Student Loan Debt	$25,000	$26,818
Median Loan Payment	$258	$277

Diversity	Gwynedd Mercy College	Penn State Wilkes-Barre
% Men	7%	0%
% Women	25%	1%
Racial Diversity	High	Very Low
HBCU	No	No
% White	57%	88%
% Black	23%	3%
% Hispanic	5%	5%
% Native American	0%	0%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	0%	2%
% International	0%	0%
% Unknown Race	10%	1%

Students	Gwynedd Mercy College	Penn State Wilkes-Barre
% In-State	80%	83%
% Out-of-State	20%	17%
Campus	Gwynedd Mercy College	Penn State Wilkes-Barre
Campus Housing	Yes	No
Freshman Dorm Required	No	No
Meal Plan	Yes	No
Weekend/Evening Classes	Yes	No
Daycare Facility	No	No
Learn More	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• Gwynedd Mercy College is larger than than Penn State Wilkes-Barre based on total student enrollment (2,165 students vs. 353 students)

Gwynedd Mercy College vs. Penn State Wilkes-Barre Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, Gwynedd Mercy College or Penn State Wilkes-Barre?

• Gwynedd Mercy College is 168.7% more expensive to attend than Penn State Wilkes-Barre for in-state tuition ($37,140.00 vs. $13,824.00)
• Out of state tuition is 59.3% higher at Gwynedd Mercy College than Penn State Wilkes Barre ($37,140.00 vs. $23,316.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Penn State Wilkes Barre than Gwynedd Mercy College ($16,275 vs. $26,733)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at Penn State Wilkes Barre are 5.2% lower than costs at Gwynedd Mercy College ($13,448 vs. $14,142)
• More students receive financial grant aid at Gwynedd Mercy College than Penn State Wilkes Barre (100% vs. 91%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by Gwynedd Mercy College students is 190.6% larger than aid received Penn State Wilkes Barre ($25,995 vs. $8,945)

Gwynedd Mercy College vs. Penn State Wilkes-Barre Admissions Difficulty Comparison

Which college is harder to get into, Gwynedd Mercy College or Penn State Wilkes-Barre? Average SAT and ACT scores plus acceptance rates offer good insight into the difficulty of admission between Penn State Wilkes-Barre or Gwynedd Mercy College .

• The average SAT score at Penn State Wilkes Barre (982) is 58 points higher than at Gwynedd Mercy College (924)
• Incoming Penn State Wilkes-Barre students have a 2 point higher average ACT score (22) than students at Gwynedd Mercy College (20)
• Penn State Wilkes-Barre has a higher acceptance rate (94.5%) than Gwynedd Mercy College (93.6%)

Gwynedd Mercy College vs. Penn State Wilkes-Barre Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, Gwynedd Mercy College or Penn State Wilkes-Barre? 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 Penn State Wilkes-Barre and Gwynedd Mercy College.

• The graduation rate at Gwynedd Mercy College is higher than Penn State Wilkes Barre (52% vs. 47%)
• Graduates from Gwynedd Mercy College earn on average $1,300 more per year than Penn State Wilkes-Barre graduates after ten years. ($56,600 vs. $55,300)
• Gwynedd Mercy College students graduate with a $1,818 lower median federal student loan debt than Penn State Wilkes-Barre graduates. ($25,000 vs. $26,818)
• Gwynedd Mercy College graduates are paying $19 less per month on federal student loans than Penn State Wilkes-Barre graduates. ($258 vs. $277)
• More Penn State Wilkes-Barre graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former Gwynedd Mercy College students, three years after graduation. (69% vs. 63%)

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