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Summary
Coastal Carolina University is a public institution that was founded in 1954. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 8,203, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 631 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Coastal Carolina University's ranking in the 2012 edition of Best Colleges is Regional Universities (South), 59. Its in-state tuition and fees are $9,820 (2011-12); out-of-state tuition and fees are $21,560 (2011-12).
Coastal Carolina University (CCU) is located about 10 miles west of the Myrtle Beach resort area in South Carolina. The university offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and about seven master’s programs, including those in the Wall College of Business Administration. CCU is also home to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, which offers hundreds of courses at three different locations for community residents to attend during the daytime or evening. Outside the classroom, CCU students can get involved in more than 80 campus organizations, play at the neighboring Quail Creek Golf Course, or check out the beaches a few miles away.
Student athletes can play at the recreational level or try out for one of the many Coastal Carolina Chanticleers varsity sports teams, which compete in the NCAA Division I Big South Conference. A chanticleer is a crafty rooster from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, and sometimes students shorten the team name to “Chants.” Notable CCU alumni include actor Michael Kelly, who has appeared in the movies Dawn of the Dead, Unbreakable, and Changeling.
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Coastal Carolina University is a growing, comprehensive, public liberal arts institution located in Conway, S.C., near the resort area of Myrtle Beach. The university offers baccalaureate programs to approximately 8,700 students in 54 fields of study and master's programs in education, marine studies, business administration and writing. The characteristics of the institution that set it apart from other universities of comparable size and mission have to do with history and location. Coastal Carolina University was founded in 1954 by a local community determined to improve its educational, economic and cultural capacities. Throughout its history the institution has maintained a close, reciprocal relationship with the surrounding region, which during the past 50 years has altered from a primarily agricultural district to a major Atlantic coast resort. The University's development has been correspondingly dynamic. Begun on a shoestring with evening classes in the local high school, Coastal Carolina was for 30 years a branch campus of the University of South Carolina. Since breaking away from the USC system in 1993, the institution has flourished. Many of the University's most successful programs are based on unique aspects of the area's geography and economy. While the institution was founded to provide higher education opportunities for the local population, Coastal Carolina University attracts many students and faculty from distant places because of its resort location. The resultant diversity of the campus community is a distinctive characteristic of the University, and has been a spur to cultural engagement and academic progressiveness. Marine science has been one of the most popular majors for the past decade, its distinguished faculty providing students, largely undergraduates, with remarkable research opportunities. Studies conducted by the University's Burroughs & Chapin Center for Marine and Wetland Studies play a vital role in shaping public policy relating to coastal resource management issues not only along the South Carolina coast but other U.S. shorelines as well. The Center is a currently a major participant in a statewide study exploring the viability of offshore wind energy production. More than 200 students are enrolled in the University's PGA Golf Management Program, created in response to the needs of the thriving golfing industry in the Myrtle Beach area. Coastal Carolina University's program is one of only 20 in the nation that is accredited by the PGA of America. The University's E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business' reputation for high achievement is exemplified by its Wall Fellows program, an elite leadership program that cultivates top students for high-level careers. In recent years, Wall Fellow graduates have been accepted for positions at such prestigious international firms as Rolls-Royce, Deloitte & Touche, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. In 2010, Coastal Carolina University was named a "Military Friendly School" by two national publications. The designation places the University in the top 15 percent of all schools nationwide in its commitment to educating military veterans. For the 2010-2011 academic year, the University established 10 new degree programs. These include two new Bachelor of Fine Arts programs, one in Theatre Arts and one in Musical Theatre. Two new Master of Education programs were also established. The M.Ed. in Educational Leadership, designed for education professionals interested in becoming school principals, will help address leadership shortages in the schools in the five-county area served by the University. |
General Information
| School type | public, coed college |
| Year founded | 1954 |
| Religious affiliation | N/A |
| Academic calendar | semester |
| Setting | suburban |
| 2010 Endowment | $21,030,115 |
Applying
When applying to Coastal Carolina University, it's important to note the application deadline is August 15. Scores for either the ACT or SAT test are due August 15. The application fee at Coastal Carolina University is $45. It is less selective, with an acceptance rate of 74.4 percent.
For more information about the tests, essays, interviews, and admissions process, visit the Applying to College knowledge center.
| Selectivity | less selective |
| Fall 2010 acceptance rate | 74% |
| Application deadline | August 15 |
| SAT/ACT scores must be received by | August 15 |
Academic Life
The student-faculty ratio at Coastal Carolina University is 17:1, and the school has 34.7 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at Coastal Carolina University include: Business Administration and Management, General; Psychology, General; Marketing/Marketing Management, General; Public Health Education and Promotion; and Speech Communication and Rhetoric. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 68.2 percent.
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| Student-faculty ratio | 17:1 | ||||||||||
| 4-year graduation rate | 22% - Medium | ||||||||||
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Student Life
Coastal Carolina University has a total undergraduate enrollment of 8,203, with a gender distribution of 46.5 percent male students and 53.5 percent female students. 40.0 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing and 60.0 percent of students live off campus. Coastal Carolina University is part of the NCAA I athletic conference.
| Total enrollment | 8,706 |
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| Collegiate athletic association | NCAA I |
Campus Info & Services
Coastal Carolina University offers a number of student services including nonremedial tutoring, women's center, placement service, health service, and health insurance. Coastal Carolina University also offers campus safety and security services like 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols, late night transport/escort service, 24-hour emergency telephones, lighted pathways/sidewalks, and controlled dormitory access (key, security card, etc). Of the students at Coastal Carolina University, 80 percent have cars on campus. Alcohol is not permitted for students of legal age at Coastal Carolina University.
| Students who have cars on campus | 80% - Medium |
| Health insurance offered | Yes |
| Students required to own/lease a computer | No |
More About Campus Info & Services
Paying for School
At Coastal Carolina University, 68.7 percent of full-time undergraduates receive some kind of need-based financial aid and the average need-based scholarship or grant award is $4,972.
Paying for college doesn't have to be difficult or devastating. Go to the Paying for College knowledge center to get advice on raising cash and reducing costs.
| In-state tuition and fees | $9,820 (2011-12) |
| Out-of-state tuition and fees | $21,560 (2011-12) |
| Room and board | $7,700 (2011-12) - Medium |
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* Overview details based on 2010 data
