California State University-Channel Islands (CSUCI) vs CSU San Marcos

California State University-Channel Islands (CSUCI) and California State University-San Marcos (CSUSM) are two distinct universities within the California State University system, each offering unique educational experiences. CSUCI, located in Camarillo, boasts a smaller student body and a higher acceptance rate compared to CSUSM in San Marcos. While both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, CSUCI is known for its strengths in liberal arts and sciences, while CSUSM excels in business and management studies. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further differences, including student demographics, graduation rates, and popular majors, to determine which university best aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	California State University-Channel Islands	California State University-San Marcos
Overview
Location	Camarillo, California	San Marcos, California
Campus setting	Suburb: Midsize	Suburb: Large
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	82.0%	79.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	93.0%	93.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	9,244	13,986
Total number of admissions given out	8,597	13,049
Admitted students who chose to enroll	566	2,413
Yield rate	6.6%	18.5%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $31,533 Out of state: $43,413	In state: $22,366 Out of state: $34,246
Average net price	$14,493	$14,296
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,740 Meal plan: $4,920
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	78.0% Average amount $9,261	70.0% Average amount $9,298
Students receiving federal student loan	16.0% Average amount $4,743	22.0% Average amount $4,734
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $8,137	1.0% Average amount $12,988

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	6,471 Men 34.0% Women 66.0%	14,963 Men 38.4% Women 61.6%
Graduate students	495 Men 38.0% Women 62.0%	1,292 Men 28.4% Women 71.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	1.8%	1.5%
International students	3.8%	3.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Midsize	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,526	1,547
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Texas Washington Alaska Colorado	California Colorado Washington Virginia Arizona

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Liberal Arts Education Computer and Information Science Visual & Performing Arts	Business Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences Computer and Information Science Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio	20:1	25:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	58.1%	59.2%
Dropout rate	34.7%	33.6%
Transferred out	4.0%	2.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $91,801 Year 2: $89,613 Year 3: $92,557 Biotechnology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $77,178 Year 2: $78,785 Year 3: $91,691 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,535 Year 2: $64,990 Year 3: $83,734 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,899 Year 2: $73,635 Year 3: $78,530 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $58,221 Year 3: $69,846 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $61,681 Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,387 Year 2: $35,274 Year 3: $50,706 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,995 Year 2: $40,034 Year 3: $49,378 Natural Resources Management and Policy (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,104 Year 2: $42,712 Year 3: $49,170 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,204 Year 2: $33,382 Year 3: $46,165	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $107,746 Year 2: $103,555 Year 3: $111,324 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $90,827 Year 2: $88,074 Year 3: $90,666 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $72,843 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $83,791 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $66,941 Year 3: $72,765 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,962 Year 2: $71,015 Year 3: $71,818 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,769 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $68,571 Physics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $65,899 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,297 Year 2: $49,520 Year 3: $62,797 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,252 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $59,957 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $45,864 Year 3: $57,022

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.