Dakota Wesleyan University vs UM Western

Dakota Wesleyan University and The University of Montana-Western, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Dakota Wesleyan, a private university in Mitchell, South Dakota, boasts a 98% acceptance rate, welcoming a diverse student body of over 800 undergraduates. The University of Montana-Western, a public university in Dillon, Montana, has a slightly lower acceptance rate of 88% and a larger student population of over 1,300 undergraduates. While Dakota Wesleyan excels in liberal arts and sciences, The University of Montana-Western specializes in teacher education and nursing. Both universities offer a supportive learning environment with small class sizes, ensuring personalized attention for their students. To help you make an informed decision about your academic journey, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two institutions, including popular majors, student demographics, graduation rates, and more.

	Dakota Wesleyan University	The University of Montana-Western
Overview
Location	Mitchell, South Dakota	Dillon, Montana
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Town: Remote
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	71.0%	73.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation	Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	75.7%	33.3%
Application fees	$110	$30
SAT range	860 - 1100	N/A
ACT range	19 - 25	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	3.0%
Students submitting ACT score	60.0%
Total number of applicants	1,047	1,278
Total number of admissions given out	793	426
Admitted students who chose to enroll	169	229
Yield rate	21.3%	53.8%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$43,080	In state: $21,456 Out of state: $32,920
Average net price	$21,830	$12,377
Tuition	$29,700	In state: $4,523 Out of state: $15,913
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $3,350 Meal plan: $4,200	Room/dormitory: $3,244 Meal plan: $4,800
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $18,033	89.0% Average amount $8,492
Students receiving federal student loan	92.0% Average amount $5,049	58.0% Average amount $7,476
Students taking out private loans	26.0% Average amount $13,323	5.0% Average amount $7,955

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	770 Men 42.9% Women 57.1%	1,399 Men 33.0% Women 67.0%
Graduate students	156 Men 35.3% Women 64.7%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	31.4%
International students	1.1%	0.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	520	420
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Montana Washington Idaho Nevada California

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Education Law Enforcement and Firefighting Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Education Liberal Arts Business Agriculture Military Technologies
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	14:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	54.9%	41.8%
Dropout rate	38.3%	26.3%
Transferred out	6.9%	28.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,155 Year 2: $57,603 Year 3: $64,357 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $55,512 Year 3: $55,254 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $42,345 Human Services, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $34,526 Year 3: $39,391 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: N/A Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $42,123 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,019 Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,046 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $35,416 Year 3: N/A Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,623 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: N/A	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,379 Year 2: $39,009 Year 3: $40,922 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,928 Year 2: $36,437 Year 3: $39,876 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $36,221 Year 3: $37,419 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,421 Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: $32,976 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: N/A

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Dakota Wesleyan University vs UM Western

Dakota Wesleyan University

The University of Montana-Western

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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