Ball State vs South Dakota University

Ball State University and the University of South Dakota, while both offering quality education, present distinct experiences for prospective students. Ball State, located in Muncie, Indiana, boasts a higher acceptance rate of 84% compared to South Dakota's 80%. With a larger student body, Ball State offers a more diverse range of undergraduate programs, including popular majors like business, nursing, and education. In contrast, the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota, excels in fields like health sciences, engineering, and agriculture. While Ball State's graduation rate stands at 62%, the University of South Dakota's is slightly higher at 65%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Ball State University	University of South Dakota
Overview
Location	Muncie, Indiana	Vermillion, South Dakota
Campus setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
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%	77.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	68.2%	87.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $60	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $35
SAT range	1010 - 1210	1050 - 1290
ACT range	20 - 27	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score	42.0%	3.0%
Students submitting ACT score	13.0%	80.0%
Total number of applicants	22,947	4,272
Total number of admissions given out	15,642	3,717
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,278	1,233
Yield rate	21.0%	33.2%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $25,254 Out of state: $42,488	In state: $25,657 Out of state: $29,167
Average net price	$12,968	$18,974
Tuition	In state: $9,628 Out of state: $26,862	In state: $7,773 Out of state: $11,283
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,862 Meal plan: $6,282	Room/dormitory: $4,366 Meal plan: $4,234
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	86.0% Average amount $11,442	84.0% Average amount $5,196
Students receiving federal student loan	88.0% Average amount $5,451	60.0% Average amount $5,102
Students taking out private loans	11.0% Average amount $13,381	14.0% Average amount $9,890

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	14,898 Men 38.7% Women 61.3%	6,987 Men 35.9% Women 64.1%
Graduate students	5,421 Men 23.0% Women 77.0%	2,477 Men 37.2% Women 62.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	9.4%	39.4%
International students	1.4%	2.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	7,531	2,154
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	South Dakota Iowa Nebraska Minnesota Wisconsin

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Liberal Arts Psychology	Health Professions Education Business Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Liberal Arts
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	14:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	68.0%	60.1%
Dropout rate	11.4%	14.2%
Transferred out	20.1%	24.5%
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	Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $110,722 Year 2: $100,951 Year 3: $109,099 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $88,473 Year 2: $97,071 Year 3: $100,634 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,587 Year 2: $68,778 Year 3: $81,751 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $70,456 Year 3: $69,478 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,040 Year 2: $62,012 Year 3: $68,456 Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $58,011 Year 2: $57,860 Year 3: $68,011 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $62,632 Year 3: $64,788 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $65,801 Year 2: $65,170 Year 3: $64,105 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,161 Year 2: $62,260 Year 3: $63,921 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $46,986 Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $61,718

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