Bowling Green State University-Main Campus (BGSU) vs Illinois State

Bowling Green State University-Main Campus and Illinois State University, both public institutions with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Bowling Green, located in Ohio, boasts a higher acceptance rate (84%) compared to Illinois State's 79%. While both universities offer a diverse range of majors, Bowling Green excels in fields like Business, Engineering, and Health Professions, while Illinois State shines in areas such as Education, Psychology, and Communication. Bowling Green's student body is slightly larger, with over 18,000 undergraduates, while Illinois State has a more balanced gender ratio. In terms of graduation rates, Illinois State holds a slight edge, with 63% of students completing their degrees within six years, compared to Bowling Green's 60%. 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.

	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus	Illinois State University
Overview
Location	Bowling Green, Ohio	Normal, Illinois
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Midsize
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	78.0%	83.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	78.7%	91.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $45 Graduate: $45	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1020 - 1210	1000 - 1200
ACT range	20 - 25	21 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	17.0%	51.0%
Students submitting ACT score	64.0%	19.0%
Total number of applicants	18,295	11,913
Total number of admissions given out	14,404	10,905
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,760	3,374
Yield rate	19.2%	30.9%
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)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $26,189 Out of state: $34,177	In state: $31,811 Out of state: $43,335
Average net price	$16,684	$21,033
Tuition	In state: $10,776 Out of state: $18,764	In state: $11,524 Out of state: $23,048
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,170 Meal plan: $4,804	Room/dormitory: $5,494 Meal plan: $4,652
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	96.0% Average amount $7,888	91.0% Average amount $10,848
Students receiving federal student loan	57.0% Average amount $5,305	46.0% Average amount $5,065
Students taking out private loans	10.0% Average amount $13,247	8.0% Average amount $14,532

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	14,465 Men 43.5% Women 56.5%	17,674 Men 43.0% Women 57.0%
Graduate students	3,180 Men 37.9% Women 62.1%	2,559 Men 35.1% Women 64.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	11.3%	4.2%
International students	4.0%	2.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	Suburb: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	5,911	5,560
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Ohio Michigan Illinois Indiana New York	Illinois Missouri Wisconsin Michigan Iowa

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Visual & Performing Arts Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Education Health Professions Business Communication and Journalism Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	18:1	19:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	62.5%	67.3%
Dropout rate	13.3%	32.0%
Transferred out	23.0%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $84,102 Year 3: $83,744 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $75,302 Year 2: $79,688 Year 3: $76,011 Psychology, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $62,772 Year 2: $67,660 Year 3: $75,005 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,793 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $74,656 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,119 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $74,156 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $65,131 Year 3: $71,653 Construction Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,158 Year 2: $62,154 Year 3: $70,152 Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,435 Year 2: $64,829 Year 3: $68,794 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,054 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $67,036 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $65,091	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,556 Year 2: $95,930 Year 3: $102,485 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,002 Year 2: $64,990 Year 3: $78,276 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,303 Year 2: $72,884 Year 3: $77,896 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,576 Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $73,936 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,516 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $73,592 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $62,000 Year 2: $64,791 Year 3: $70,358 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,829 Year 2: $65,194 Year 3: $65,533 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,294 Year 2: $54,996 Year 3: $64,567 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,313 Year 2: $52,781 Year 3: $64,241 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,480 Year 2: $54,470 Year 3: $63,207

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