Chicago State vs NorthWestern

When it comes to higher education in Illinois, Chicago State University and Northwestern University stand out as two distinct institutions with unique offerings. Chicago State, a public university located on the South Side of Chicago, prides itself on its diverse student body and commitment to serving the local community. In contrast, Northwestern, a private research university in Evanston, is known for its rigorous academics, strong alumni network, and beautiful lakeside campus. With acceptance rates of 85% and 10%, respectively, these universities cater to different applicant pools. While Chicago State offers popular majors in fields like business, education, and social work, Northwestern boasts strengths in engineering, economics, and computer science. Explore the comparison table below to delve deeper into the differences between these two universities, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and more, to find the best fit for your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Chicago State University	Northwestern University
Overview
Location	Chicago, Illinois	Evanston, Illinois
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Quarter
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	41.0%	99.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	47.5%	7.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $30	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $95
SAT range	N/A	1470 - 1570
ACT range	N/A	34 - 35
Students submitting SAT score		43.0%
Students submitting ACT score		39.0%
Total number of applicants	4,805	47,636
Total number of admissions given out	2,281	3,321
Admitted students who chose to enroll	168	2,086
Yield rate	7.4%	62.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$26,179	$83,838
Average net price	$4,846	$29,999
Tuition	$7,488	$60,276
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,000 Meal plan: $4,400	Room/dormitory: $11,271 Meal plan: $6,993
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	95.0% Average amount $17,067	57.0% Average amount $51,087
Students receiving federal student loan	92.0% Average amount $3,945	23.0% Average amount $4,625
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $0	2.0% Average amount $38,595

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,502 Men 30.7% Women 69.3%	8,847 Men 46.1% Women 53.9%
Graduate students	864 Men 30.0% Women 70.0%	14,562 Men 47.3% Women 52.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	6.0%	17.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	300	4,409
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Psychology Business Education Liberal Arts	Business Communication and Journalism Engineering Health Professions Legal Profession
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	6:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	21.0%	95.2%
Dropout rate	31.5%	4.2%
Transferred out	43.8%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $105,786 Year 2: $120,252 Year 3: $126,376 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $65,021 Year 2: $68,858 Year 3: $70,334 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,393 Year 2: $61,814 Year 3: $69,196 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $47,652 Year 2: $39,639 Year 3: $50,599 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $40,368 Year 3: $48,532 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,049 Year 2: $36,437 Year 3: $40,472 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,389 Year 2: $29,443 Year 3: $37,767 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,482 Year 2: $37,856 Year 3: $37,056 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,460 Year 2: $32,391 Year 3: $32,295 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,067 Year 2: $27,358 Year 3: $31,994	Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $150,242 Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $221,242 Business/Commerce, General (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $216,176 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $187,194 Year 2: $170,971 Year 3: $206,288 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $120,709 Year 2: $189,565 Year 3: $194,961 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $162,478 Year 2: $163,561 Year 3: $177,652 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $111,200 Year 2: $157,779 Year 3: $159,304 Engineering, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $140,321 Year 2: $141,586 Year 3: $154,556 Medical Illustration and Informatics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $88,288 Year 2: $118,465 Year 3: $132,325 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $118,780 Year 2: $111,323 Year 3: $130,124 Community Organization and Advocacy (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $115,760 Year 2: $113,668 Year 3: $128,046

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Chicago State vs NorthWestern

Chicago State University

Northwestern University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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