CSU San Marcos vs California State University-San Bernardino (CSUSB)

California State University-San Marcos (CSUSM) and California State University-San Bernardino (CSUSB) are two distinct universities within the California State University system, each offering unique educational experiences. CSUSM boasts a higher acceptance rate (76%) compared to CSUSB (69%), making it a more accessible option for prospective students. While both universities offer a diverse range of majors, CSUSM excels in business, management, and marketing, while CSUSB is renowned for its programs in engineering, computer science, and nursing. CSUSM's student body is slightly larger and more diverse, with a higher percentage of female students and a greater representation of Hispanic and Asian students. In terms of graduation rates, CSUSM has a slight edge over CSUSB, with a 6-year graduation rate of 62% compared to CSUSB's 59%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions between these two esteemed institutions and make an informed decision about

	California State University-San Bernardino	California State University-San Marcos
Overview
Location	San Bernardino, California	San Marcos, California
Campus setting	City: 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	78.0%	79.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	91.0%	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	13,057	13,986
Total number of admissions given out	11,878	13,049
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,001	2,413
Yield rate	16.8%	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: $28,409 Out of state: $40,289	In state: $22,366 Out of state: $34,246
Average net price	$3,254	$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: $7,644 Meal plan: $3,000
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	87.0% Average amount $10,157	70.0% Average amount $9,298
Students receiving federal student loan	12.0% Average amount $4,553	22.0% Average amount $4,734
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $8,949	1.0% Average amount $12,988

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	16,858 Men 37.6% Women 62.4%	14,963 Men 38.4% Women 61.6%
Graduate students	2,656 Men 32.9% Women 67.1%	1,292 Men 28.4% Women 71.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	0.6%	1.5%
International students	5.4%	3.4%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,482	1,547
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Arizona Hawaii Minnesota	California Colorado Washington Virginia Arizona

Academics
Popular study areas	Public Administration and Social Service Liberal Arts Health Professions Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Education	Business Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences Computer and Information Science Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio	25:1	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	57.0%	59.2%
Dropout rate	36.1%	33.6%
Transferred out	1.2%	2.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $79,025 Year 2: $88,739 Year 3: $91,007 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,100 Year 2: $86,356 Year 3: $89,781 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $76,052 Year 2: $72,214 Year 3: $79,205 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $63,968 Year 2: $65,066 Year 3: $71,975 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $67,962 Year 2: $64,358 Year 3: $68,388 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,267 Year 2: $58,221 Year 3: $66,764 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,496 Year 2: $52,524 Year 3: $66,429 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,356 Year 2: $56,867 Year 3: $64,336 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,681 Year 2: $58,503 Year 3: $63,478 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,337 Year 2: $46,966 Year 3: $58,366	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

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