Ball State vs Saint Cloud State University (SCSU)

Ball State University and Saint Cloud State University, both public universities with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Ball State, located in Muncie, Indiana, boasts a higher acceptance rate (84%) compared to Saint Cloud State's 79%. While Ball State excels in fields like business, journalism, and music, Saint Cloud State shines in nursing, education, and engineering. Ball State's student body is slightly larger and more diverse, with a higher percentage of international students. Saint Cloud State, on the other hand, has a higher graduation rate (62%) than Ball State's 58%. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting these key differences and more. Explore the table to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Ball State University	Saint Cloud State University
Overview
Location	Muncie, Indiana	Saint Cloud, Minnesota
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Small
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	73.0%	62.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	68.2%	94.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $60	$40
SAT range	1010 - 1210	N/A
ACT range	20 - 27	18 - 24
Students submitting SAT score	42.0%
Students submitting ACT score	13.0%	39.0%
Total number of applicants	22,947	4,228
Total number of admissions given out	15,642	3,988
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,278	837
Yield rate	21.0%	21.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $25,254 Out of state: $42,488	In state: $22,317 Out of state: $31,157
Average net price	$12,968	$13,615
Tuition	In state: $9,628 Out of state: $26,862	In state: $7,839 Out of state: $16,679
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,862 Meal plan: $6,282	Room/dormitory: $6,036 Meal plan: $3,311
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	86.0% Average amount $11,442	83.0% Average amount $6,233
Students receiving federal student loan	88.0% Average amount $5,451	48.0% Average amount $5,504
Students taking out private loans	11.0% Average amount $13,381	12.0% Average amount $10,683

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	14,898 Men 38.7% Women 61.3%	8,956 Men 45.7% Women 54.3%
Graduate students	5,421 Men 23.0% Women 77.0%	1,818 Men 36.9% Women 63.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	9.4%	N/A
International students	1.4%	10.2%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	7,531	1,642
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Indiana Illinois Ohio Michigan Florida	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Liberal Arts Psychology	Education Health Professions Business Engineering Liberal Arts
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	68.0%	47.2%
Dropout rate	11.4%	16.2%
Transferred out	20.1%	34.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,451 Year 2: $92,124 Year 3: $94,146 Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $69,551 Year 2: $75,989 Year 3: $81,236 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,545 Year 2: $63,997 Year 3: $77,057 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $75,885 Year 2: $65,610 Year 3: $75,003 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,368 Year 2: $53,108 Year 3: $65,967 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,067 Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $64,046 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,195 Year 2: $54,296 Year 3: $63,441 Business/Commerce, General (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $57,995 Year 3: $62,410 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,157 Year 2: $56,776 Year 3: $60,714 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,299 Year 2: $52,357 Year 3: $59,898	Educational Administration and Supervision (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $80,556 Year 3: $94,800 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $79,020 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $92,834 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,563 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $81,117 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,734 Year 2: $59,253 Year 3: $78,506 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,589 Year 2: $63,377 Year 3: $74,072 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,404 Year 2: $66,377 Year 3: $68,544 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $58,522 Year 3: $66,211 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,623 Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $63,637 Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,397 Year 2: $62,154 Year 3: $62,291 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,276 Year 2: $51,273 Year 3: $57,748

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