CSU-FC vs California State University-Northridge (CSUN)

Envision yourself immersed in the vibrant college towns of Fort Collins, Colorado, and Northridge, California, home to Colorado State University-Fort Collins (CSU) and California State University-Northridge (CSUN), respectively. While both universities share a commitment to academic excellence and student success, they offer distinct experiences shaped by their unique locations, academic strengths, and student demographics. CSU boasts a higher acceptance rate, attracting a diverse student body from across the nation, while CSUN's acceptance rate is more selective, resulting in a predominantly local student population. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further differences, including popular majors, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your college decision. Discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences, setting the stage for an enriching and transformative college journey.

	California State University-Northridge	Colorado State University-Fort Collins
Overview
Location	Northridge, California	Fort Collins, Colorado
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Midsize
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	82.0%	86.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.1%	89.6%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $60
SAT range	N/A	1080 - 1290
ACT range	N/A	23 - 29
Students submitting SAT score		38.0%
Students submitting ACT score		17.0%
Total number of applicants	23,656	31,586
Total number of admissions given out	20,842	28,314
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,716	5,197
Yield rate	22.6%	18.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $31,857 Out of state: $43,737	In state: $27,174 Out of state: $46,456
Average net price	$8,708	$18,320
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	In state: $9,709 Out of state: $28,991
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,316 Meal plan: $4,506	Room/dormitory: $6,186 Meal plan: $6,830
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	82.0% Average amount $10,882	70.0% Average amount $10,034
Students receiving federal student loan	14.0% Average amount $4,779	36.0% Average amount $5,018
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $12,360	7.0% Average amount $19,976

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	34,496 Men 45.0% Women 55.0%	24,954 Men 45.6% Women 54.4%
Graduate students	5,612 Men 33.0% Women 67.0%	7,632 Men 43.7% Women 56.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	1.7%	34.3%
International students	6.0%	4.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	4,029	8,300
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Washington Hawaii Nevada Texas	Colorado California Texas Illinois Washington

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Engineering Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Public Administration and Social Service Computer and Information Science	Business Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Agriculture Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio	26:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	54.2%	69.1%
Dropout rate	33.7%	18.5%
Transferred out	5.6%	10.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $95,739 Year 3: $108,158 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $89,831 Year 2: $92,124 Year 3: $98,535 Taxation (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $72,745 Year 2: $86,867 Year 3: $97,852 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $83,455 Year 2: $88,907 Year 3: $96,626 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $79,863 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $92,559 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $80,493 Year 3: $92,252 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $83,281 Year 2: $83,669 Year 3: $89,964 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,782 Year 2: $75,047 Year 3: $84,221 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,859 Year 2: $73,070 Year 3: $82,977 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,180 Year 2: $76,863 Year 3: $82,194	Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $94,915 Year 3: $106,015 Engineering, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $82,613 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $95,296 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,379 Year 2: $75,706 Year 3: $93,827 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $98,747 Year 2: $80,301 Year 3: $92,215 Chemistry (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $73,256 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $89,957 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,253 Year 2: $73,070 Year 3: $88,889 Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $77,603 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $88,546 Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $76,387 Year 2: $83,546 Year 3: $86,814 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,629 Year 2: $71,778 Year 3: $83,089 Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,849 Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $80,723

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