CMU-Mount Pleasant vs Saint Cloud State University (SCSU)

Central Michigan University and Saint Cloud State University, both public universities with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Central Michigan, located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, boasts a higher acceptance rate (79%) compared to Saint Cloud State's 73%. Central Michigan's student body is more diverse, with a larger international student population. Saint Cloud State, situated in Saint Cloud, Minnesota, has a higher graduation rate (62%) and a smaller student-to-faculty ratio, providing a more personalized learning environment. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, with popular majors including business, education, and nursing. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic goals and preferences.

	Central Michigan University	Saint Cloud State University
Overview
Location	Mount Pleasant, Michigan	Saint Cloud, Minnesota
Campus setting	Town: Distant	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	77.0%	62.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	77.1%	94.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $50	$40
SAT range	1010 - 1220	N/A
ACT range	20 - 26	18 - 24
Students submitting SAT score	57.0%
Students submitting ACT score	10.0%	39.0%
Total number of applicants	18,517	4,228
Total number of admissions given out	14,273	3,988
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,910	837
Yield rate	13.4%	21.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$24,600	In state: $22,317 Out of state: $31,157
Average net price	$16,880	$13,615
Tuition	$12,750	In state: $7,839 Out of state: $16,679
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,400 Meal plan: $5,520	Room/dormitory: $6,036 Meal plan: $3,311
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	94.0% Average amount $10,288	83.0% Average amount $6,233
Students receiving federal student loan	78.0% Average amount $5,874	48.0% Average amount $5,504
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $8,007	12.0% Average amount $10,683

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	11,417 Men 39.3% Women 60.7%	8,956 Men 45.7% Women 54.3%
Graduate students	4,007 Men 39.5% Women 60.5%	1,818 Men 36.9% Women 63.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	9.3%	N/A
International students	3.4%	10.2%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	5,514	1,642
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Michigan Illinois Ohio Indiana Wisconsin	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Education Public Administration and Social Service Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Education Health Professions Business Engineering Liberal Arts
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	61.7%	47.2%
Dropout rate	33.7%	16.2%
Transferred out	N/A	34.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,045 Year 2: $113,135 Year 3: $114,375 International Business (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $76,008 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $81,586 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,477 Year 2: $74,367 Year 3: $81,249 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $82,333 Year 2: $74,200 Year 3: $79,688 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,978 Year 2: $74,200 Year 3: $78,210 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $66,347 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $77,569 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,306 Year 2: $66,105 Year 3: $76,690 Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,535 Year 2: $68,499 Year 3: $74,567 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $70,154 Year 2: $70,875 Year 3: $73,884 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,490 Year 2: $63,799 Year 3: $73,873	Educational Administration and Supervision (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $80,556 Year 3: $94,800 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $79,020 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $92,834 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,563 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $81,117 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,734 Year 2: $59,253 Year 3: $78,506 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,589 Year 2: $63,377 Year 3: $74,072 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,404 Year 2: $66,377 Year 3: $68,544 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $58,522 Year 3: $66,211 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,623 Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $63,637 Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,397 Year 2: $62,154 Year 3: $62,291 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,276 Year 2: $51,273 Year 3: $57,748

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