Dartmouth vs The Pennsylvania State University (PSU)

Dartmouth College and The Pennsylvania State University, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Dartmouth, an Ivy League institution nestled in Hanover, New Hampshire, boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 7.9%. Penn State, a public research university with multiple campuses across Pennsylvania, welcomes a larger and more diverse student body, with an acceptance rate of 54.4%. While both universities excel in various academic disciplines, Dartmouth is renowned for its strengths in the humanities and social sciences, while Penn State is known for its engineering, business, and agricultural programs. Explore the detailed comparison table to delve into further distinctions between these two exceptional universities, considering factors such as student demographics, graduation rates, and popular majors, to determine the best fit for your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Dartmouth College	The Pennsylvania State University
Overview
Location	Hanover, New Hampshire	University Park, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Town: Remote	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	98.0%	87.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	6.2%	92.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $80 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	1440 - 1560	1140 - 1360
ACT range	33 - 35	25 - 31
Students submitting SAT score	47.0%	32.0%
Students submitting ACT score	30.0%	6.0%
Total number of applicants	28,356	96,686
Total number of admissions given out	1,750	89,207
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,221	16,049
Yield rate	69.8%	18.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$81,501	In state: $38,270 Out of state: $55,848
Average net price	$24,078	$24,012
Tuition	$58,953	In state: $18,368 Out of state: $35,946
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $10,569 Meal plan: $6,792	Room/dormitory: $7,360 Meal plan: $5,618
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	48.0% Average amount $56,106	51.0% Average amount $9,884
Students receiving federal student loan	20.0% Average amount $5,066	49.0% Average amount $5,305
Students taking out private loans	37.0% Average amount $5,335	13.0% Average amount $19,837

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	4,556 Men 50.7% Women 49.3%	73,476 Men 53.7% Women 46.3%
Graduate students	2,205 Men 50.4% Women 49.6%	15,438 Men 51.7% Women 48.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	97.3%	34.1%
International students	17.0%	10.5%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	3,733	20,547
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California New York Mississippi New Jersey Texas	Pennsylvania New Jersey New York Maryland Virginia

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Engineering Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics	Business Engineering Computer and Information Science Health Professions Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.6%	72.3%
Dropout rate	4.9%	25.7%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $160,724 Year 2: $167,295 Year 3: $180,970 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $111,259 Year 2: $113,015 Year 3: $128,856 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $85,069 Year 2: $87,604 Year 3: $98,252 Public Health (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $77,715 Year 3: $88,684 Engineering Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,341 Year 2: $78,343 Year 3: $81,883 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,277 Year 2: $64,990 Year 3: $81,813 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,302 Year 2: $48,432 Year 3: $80,946 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,095 Year 2: $62,192 Year 3: $75,463 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,013 Year 2: $103,078 Year 3: $71,100 Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $58,996 Year 2: $61,728 Year 3: $70,914	Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $109,295 Year 2: $120,549 Year 3: $125,527 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,798 Year 2: $95,930 Year 3: $120,289 Computer Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,190 Year 2: $97,959 Year 3: $113,544 Mining and Mineral Engineering (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $98,403 Year 3: $108,754 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,372 Year 2: $100,455 Year 3: $107,874 Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,574 Year 2: $99,291 Year 3: $104,370 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,304 Year 2: $97,855 Year 3: $104,056 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,512 Year 2: $94,864 Year 3: $103,461 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $92,632 Year 3: $98,201 Nuclear Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $89,155 Year 3: $94,780

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