Bowling Green State University-Main Campus (BGSU) vs University of Southern Mississippi (USM)

Bowling Green State University-Main Campus and University of Southern Mississippi, both public institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Bowling Green, located in Ohio, boasts a higher acceptance rate (84%) compared to Southern Miss's 78% in Mississippi. While Southern Miss has a larger student body, Bowling Green offers a more diverse student population. Both universities excel in various academic areas, with Bowling Green excelling in business, education, and engineering, while Southern Miss shines in nursing, business, and education. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two universities, including acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the table to discover which institution aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus	University of Southern Mississippi
Overview
Location	Bowling Green, Ohio	Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Campus setting	Town: Fringe	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	78.0%	70.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	78.7%	95.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $45 Graduate: $45	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $60
SAT range	1020 - 1210	N/A
ACT range	20 - 25	19 - 26
Students submitting SAT score	17.0%
Students submitting ACT score	64.0%	99.0%
Total number of applicants	18,295	9,314
Total number of admissions given out	14,404	8,922
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,760	1,587
Yield rate	19.2%	17.8%
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: $25,100 Out of state: $27,100
Average net price	$16,684	$13,651
Tuition	In state: $10,776 Out of state: $18,764	In state: $9,094 Out of state: $11,094
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,170 Meal plan: $4,804	$10,950
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	96.0% Average amount $7,888	91.0% Average amount $9,072
Students receiving federal student loan	57.0% Average amount $5,305	54.0% Average amount $5,327
Students taking out private loans	10.0% Average amount $13,247	4.0% Average amount $12,298

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	14,465 Men 43.5% Women 56.5%	10,693 Men 35.3% Women 64.7%
Graduate students	3,180 Men 37.9% Women 62.1%	3,453 Men 33.7% Women 66.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	11.3%	25.7%
International students	4.0%	2.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Fringe	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	5,911	3,592
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	Mississippi Louisiana Alabama Florida Tennessee

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Visual & Performing Arts Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Health Professions Education Business Psychology Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio	18:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	62.5%	51.8%
Dropout rate	13.3%	46.0%
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 (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $157,573 Year 2: $156,846 Year 3: $164,002 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $95,073 Year 3: $99,130 Education, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $67,660 Year 3: $71,295 Public Health (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: $67,024 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,957 Year 2: $56,254 Year 3: $57,464 Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,555 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $56,239 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,332 Year 2: $53,358 Year 3: $52,453 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,129 Year 2: $38,829 Year 3: $50,674 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,726 Year 2: $48,432 Year 3: $49,610 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,917 Year 2: $45,696 Year 3: $48,921

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