Charleston Southern vs FMU-Florence

Charleston Southern University and Francis Marion University, both esteemed institutions in South Carolina, offer distinct educational experiences. Charleston Southern, a private Christian university, boasts a lower acceptance rate (68%) compared to Francis Marion's (75%). While Charleston Southern's student body is predominantly White (68%) and female (58%), Francis Marion's student body is more diverse, with a higher percentage of African American (29%) and male (52%) students. Both universities offer a range of popular majors, including Business, Education, and Nursing, but Charleston Southern also excels in Engineering and Computer Science. With a higher graduation rate (62%) than Francis Marion's (58%), Charleston Southern may be a more attractive option for students seeking a higher chance of completing their studies. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic goals and preferences.

	Charleston Southern University	Francis Marion University
Overview
Location	Charleston, South Carolina	Florence, South Carolina
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	4-1-4	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	68.0%	66.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation	Baptist

Admission
Acceptance rate	57.2%	86.1%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $41 Graduate: $41
SAT range	990 - 1200	930 - 1120
ACT range	18 - 23	15 - 22
Students submitting SAT score	50.0%	20.0%
Students submitting ACT score	39.0%	19.0%
Total number of applicants	3,940	3,028
Total number of admissions given out	2,254	2,608
Admitted students who chose to enroll	690	699
Yield rate	30.6%	26.8%
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)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$42,500	In state: $24,351 Out of state: $34,735
Average net price	$18,182	$13,299
Tuition	$28,630	In state: $10,384 Out of state: $20,768
Room & board	$11,032	$8,230
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $22,425	98.0% Average amount $10,192
Students receiving federal student loan	56.0% Average amount $5,238	59.0% Average amount $5,579
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $10,921	4.0% Average amount $7,593

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,725 Men 35.6% Women 64.4%	3,475 Men 33.3% Women 66.7%
Graduate students	616 Men 36.7% Women 63.3%	448 Men 22.8% Women 77.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	23.5%	4.4%
International students	2.3%	1.6%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Small
Dormitory capacity	1,424	1,413
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	South Carolina North Carolina Georgia Florida Pennsylvania	South Carolina North Carolina Florida Georgia Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Health Professions Education Business Psychology Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	13:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	49.3%	43.2%
Dropout rate	49.7%	15.9%
Transferred out	N/A	38.3%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,078 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $80,916 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,709 Year 2: $59,425 Year 3: $64,433 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,982 Year 2: $56,867 Year 3: $57,626 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,309 Year 2: $46,589 Year 3: $54,442 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $44,112 Year 2: $48,198 Year 3: $53,093 Human Resources Management and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,775 Year 2: $36,674 Year 3: $48,261 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $45,715 Year 3: $47,106 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,190 Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: $38,459 Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,781 Year 2: $32,284 Year 3: $34,518 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,345 Year 2: $32,391 Year 3: $31,620	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,582 Year 2: $101,964 Year 3: $110,561 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,618 Year 2: $58,866 Year 3: $60,568 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $41,080 Year 2: $43,426 Year 3: $47,870 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,649 Year 3: $40,311 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,861 Year 2: $28,443 Year 3: $34,636 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,038 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: $34,338 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,535 Year 2: $31,314 Year 3: $34,010 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,804 Year 2: $28,180 Year 3: $32,997 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,805 Year 2: $30,157 Year 3: $32,022 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,652 Year 3: $31,548

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.

Charleston Southern vs FMU-Florence

Charleston Southern University

Francis Marion University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

Compare Similar Colleges

Find Colleges By State

Resources

About