Adams State vs NSU-Aberdeen

Adams State University and Northern State University, both public institutions in the Western United States, offer distinct educational experiences. Adams State, located in Alamosa, Colorado, boasts a higher acceptance rate (88%) compared to Northern State's 79% in Aberdeen, South Dakota. While Northern State has a larger student body, Adams State maintains a smaller average class size, fostering a more personalized learning environment. Both universities offer diverse academic programs, with Adams State excelling in fields like education and nursing, and Northern State specializing in business and health sciences. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these institutions' unique strengths, student demographics, graduation rates, and other key factors that can help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Adams State University	Northern State University
Overview
Location	Alamosa, Colorado	Aberdeen, South Dakota
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Town: Remote
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	59.0%	68.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	99.8%	79.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $35
SAT range	920 - 1140	1020 - 1190
ACT range	18 - 23	18 - 24
Students submitting SAT score	25.0%	5.0%
Students submitting ACT score	10.0%	80.0%
Total number of applicants	1,717	1,229
Total number of admissions given out	1,714	981
Admitted students who chose to enroll	318	337
Yield rate	18.6%	34.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Required	Required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $26,474 Out of state: $34,727	In state: $23,495 Out of state: $26,597
Average net price	$14,492	$16,821
Tuition	In state: $5,976 Out of state: $14,229	In state: $7,616 Out of state: $10,718
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $3,967 Meal plan: $5,200	Room/dormitory: $4,800 Meal plan: $4,350
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	94.0% Average amount $9,130	89.0% Average amount $5,662
Students receiving federal student loan	69.0% Average amount $5,315	65.0% Average amount $4,850
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $11,675	10.0% Average amount $9,043

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,835 Men 52.8% Women 47.2%	2,867 Men 40.6% Women 59.4%
Graduate students	1,303 Men 29.1% Women 70.9%	473 Men 26.6% Women 73.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Very Low
Out-of-state students	42.2%	38.9%
International students	0.7%	2.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	1,200	853
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Colorado New Mexico California Arizona Texas	South Dakota Minnesota North Dakota Iowa Wisconsin

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Psychology History	Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Business Liberal Arts
Students to faculty ratio	11:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	28.7%	47.6%
Dropout rate	49.8%	25.4%
Transferred out	17.9%	22.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,245 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $63,845 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $43,727 Year 2: $44,126 Year 3: $47,513 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $43,360 Year 2: $44,861 Year 3: $46,910 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,088 Year 2: $34,603 Year 3: $39,930 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,120 Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: $33,756 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,377 Year 2: $28,019 Year 3: $32,724 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,667 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,019 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,806 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: N/A Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,414 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $49,248 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,021 Year 3: $46,732 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,902 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $46,239 Curriculum and Instruction (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $43,575 Year 3: $45,796 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,996 Year 2: $40,728 Year 3: $45,442 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,033 Year 2: $39,523 Year 3: $39,953 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,526 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $39,845 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,862 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $20,824 Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $38,740 Year 2: $34,526 Year 3: N/A

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