CMU-Mount Pleasant vs University of Southern Mississippi (USM)

Central Michigan University (CMU) and the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) are two distinct universities with unique offerings. CMU, located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, boasts a higher acceptance rate (79%) compared to USM's 70% in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. While both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, CMU excels in fields like Business, Engineering, and Health Professions, while USM shines in Nursing, Education, and Social Sciences. CMU's student body is slightly larger, with over 18,000 undergraduates, while USM has a more intimate community of around 14,000 undergraduates. Both universities prioritize student success, with CMU reporting a graduation rate of 58% and USM achieving a 56% graduation rate. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key aspects of each university. Explore the table to discover which institution aligns best with your academic

	Central Michigan University	University of Southern Mississippi
Overview
Location	Mount Pleasant, Michigan	Hattiesburg, Mississippi
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%	70.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	77.1%	95.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $60
SAT range	1010 - 1220	N/A
ACT range	20 - 26	19 - 26
Students submitting SAT score	57.0%
Students submitting ACT score	10.0%	99.0%
Total number of applicants	18,517	9,314
Total number of admissions given out	14,273	8,922
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,910	1,587
Yield rate	13.4%	17.8%
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: $25,100 Out of state: $27,100
Average net price	$16,880	$13,651
Tuition	$12,750	In state: $9,094 Out of state: $11,094
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,400 Meal plan: $5,520	$10,950
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	94.0% Average amount $10,288	91.0% Average amount $9,072
Students receiving federal student loan	78.0% Average amount $5,874	54.0% Average amount $5,327
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $8,007	4.0% Average amount $12,298

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	11,417 Men 39.3% Women 60.7%	10,693 Men 35.3% Women 64.7%
Graduate students	4,007 Men 39.5% Women 60.5%	3,453 Men 33.7% Women 66.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	9.3%	25.7%
International students	3.4%	2.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	5,514	3,592
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	Mississippi Louisiana Alabama Florida Tennessee

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Education Public Administration and Social Service Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Health Professions Education Business Psychology Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	61.7%	51.8%
Dropout rate	33.7%	46.0%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
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	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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