CSU San Marcos vs Nicholls State

California State University-San Marcos (CSUSM) and Nicholls State University (NSU) are two distinct universities with unique offerings. CSUSM, located in the vibrant city of San Marcos, California, boasts an acceptance rate of 78%, while NSU, situated in the charming town of Thibodaux, Louisiana, has a slightly lower acceptance rate of 70%. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate and graduate programs, with CSUSM excelling in fields like business, psychology, and criminal justice, and NSU specializing in nursing, education, and engineering. While CSUSM's student body is predominantly Hispanic, NSU's student population is primarily White. Additionally, CSUSM boasts a higher graduation rate of 58% compared to NSU's 49%. To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we have compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into these differences and more. Explore the table to discover which

	California State University-San Marcos	Nicholls State University
Overview
Location	San Marcos, California	Thibodaux, Louisiana
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	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	79.0%	70.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	93.3%	97.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $36
SAT range	N/A	1038 - 1228
ACT range	N/A	20 - 25
Students submitting SAT score		2.0%
Students submitting ACT score		98.0%
Total number of applicants	13,986	2,167
Total number of admissions given out	13,049	2,106
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,413	958
Yield rate	18.5%	45.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $22,366 Out of state: $34,246	In state: $24,440 Out of state: $25,533
Average net price	$14,296	$12,907
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	In state: $4,922 Out of state: $6,015
Room & board		Room/dormitory: $6,846 Meal plan: $3,562
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	70.0% Average amount $9,298	96.0% Average amount $8,215
Students receiving federal student loan	22.0% Average amount $4,734	50.0% Average amount $5,010
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $12,988	2.0% Average amount $8,263

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	14,963 Men 38.4% Women 61.6%	5,567 Men 36.4% Women 63.6%
Graduate students	1,292 Men 28.4% Women 71.6%	658 Men 18.8% Women 81.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	1.5%	N/A
International students	3.4%	1.5%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	1,547	1,423
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Colorado Washington Virginia Arizona	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences Computer and Information Science Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Health Professions Business Education Multidisciplinary Studies Psychology
Students to faculty ratio	25:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	59.2%	50.2%
Dropout rate	33.6%	24.0%
Transferred out	2.6%	24.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,217 Year 2: $89,841 Year 3: $99,390 Mining and Petroleum Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,846 Year 2: $52,733 Year 3: $68,809 Mining and Petroleum Technologies/Technicians (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $54,415 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $60,810 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $57,839 Year 2: $56,641 Year 3: $59,396 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,286 Year 2: $60,030 Year 3: $59,338 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $44,223 Year 2: $47,046 Year 3: $46,006 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $40,732 Year 2: $45,383 Year 3: $43,138 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $36,995 Year 2: $40,768 Year 3: $42,970 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,281 Year 2: $37,779 Year 3: $42,819 Curriculum and Instruction (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $42,155 Year 2: $45,500 Year 3: $41,451

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