Cleveland State vs Northern Kentucky University (NKU)

Cleveland State University and Northern Kentucky University, both located in vibrant urban settings, offer distinct educational experiences. Cleveland State, situated in the heart of downtown Cleveland, boasts a diverse student body and a wide range of academic programs, including engineering, business, and nursing. Northern Kentucky, nestled along the Ohio River, prides itself on its strong liberal arts foundation and nationally recognized programs in education, nursing, and business. While both universities share a commitment to academic excellence, they differ in acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Cleveland State University	Northern Kentucky University
Overview
Location	Cleveland, Ohio	Highland Heights, Kentucky
Campus setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
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	70.0%	70.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	91.3%	80.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $40	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $40
SAT range	900 - 1170	983 - 1210
ACT range	18 - 28	20 - 26
Students submitting SAT score	23.0%	7.0%
Students submitting ACT score	50.0%	84.0%
Total number of applicants	11,506	6,637
Total number of admissions given out	10,504	5,329
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,869	1,690
Yield rate	17.8%	31.7%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $28,630 Out of state: $33,593	In state: $28,010 Out of state: $38,066
Average net price	$15,517	$7,443
Tuition	In state: $11,610 Out of state: $16,573	In state: $10,008 Out of state: $20,064
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,825 Meal plan: $5,394	$11,454
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	92.0% Average amount $8,779	99.0% Average amount $10,343
Students receiving federal student loan	48.0% Average amount $5,037	43.0% Average amount $4,988
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $11,833	3.0% Average amount $10,090

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	10,481 Men 44.5% Women 55.5%	10,814 Men 39.8% Women 60.2%
Graduate students	4,827 Men 46.2% Women 53.8%	5,165 Men 25.9% Women 74.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	13.0%	2.0%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,011	1,376
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Ohio Indiana Florida Maryland

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

Outcome
Graduation rate	50.8%	47.8%
Dropout rate	8.7%	49.3%
Transferred out	33.8%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,571 Year 2: $65,332 Year 3: $93,774 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,395 Year 2: $77,966 Year 3: $83,195 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,483 Year 2: $65,849 Year 3: $75,917 Education, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $56,127 Year 2: $73,446 Year 3: $74,430 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,475 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $71,477 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,703 Year 2: $60,061 Year 3: $71,065 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $69,187 Year 2: $65,610 Year 3: $70,270 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $60,500 Year 2: $63,666 Year 3: $70,009 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,594 Year 2: $59,901 Year 3: $68,841 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $48,944 Year 2: $54,020 Year 3: $67,084	Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $98,497 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,665 Year 2: $90,245 Year 3: $95,400 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,690 Year 2: $101,406 Year 3: $91,600 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,069 Year 2: $81,333 Year 3: $79,768 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,058 Year 2: $67,420 Year 3: $74,689 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,266 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $72,692 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,922 Year 2: $59,071 Year 3: $66,724 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $62,135 Year 2: $59,534 Year 3: $65,990 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,914 Year 2: $56,867 Year 3: $62,291 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $41,900 Year 2: $50,856 Year 3: $61,904

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Cleveland State vs Northern Kentucky University (NKU)

Cleveland State University

Northern Kentucky University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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