Denison University vs Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU)

Denison University and Illinois Wesleyan University, both esteemed liberal arts institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Denison, nestled in Granville, Ohio, boasts a lower acceptance rate (24%) compared to Illinois Wesleyan's (59%) in Bloomington, Illinois. While Denison's student body is slightly larger, both universities share a commitment to small class sizes, fostering close interactions between students and faculty. Explore their differences in popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates in the comparison table below to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Denison University	Illinois Wesleyan University
Overview
Location	Granville, Ohio	Bloomington, Illinois
Campus setting	Suburb: Small	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	87.0%	85.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	28.3%	45.2%
Application fees
SAT range	1230 - 1430	1110 - 1310
ACT range	28 - 32	24 - 29
Students submitting SAT score	28.0%	33.0%
Students submitting ACT score	23.0%	31.0%
Total number of applicants	9,513	4,543
Total number of admissions given out	2,689	2,055
Admitted students who chose to enroll	654	432
Yield rate	24.3%	21.0%
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	$73,900	$67,124
Average net price	$38,833	$30,610
Tuition	$57,500	$52,308
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,700 Meal plan: $6,560	Room/dormitory: $7,584 Meal plan: $4,528
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	96.0% Average amount $34,310	100.0% Average amount $34,810
Students receiving federal student loan	41.0% Average amount $5,126	68.0% Average amount $5,692
Students taking out private loans	8.0% Average amount $15,550	35.0% Average amount $6,781

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,321 Men 47.8% Women 52.2%	1,653 Men 49.4% Women 50.6%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	74.8%	N/A
International students	16.8%	3.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	2,479	1,308
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Ohio Illinois Mississippi Pennsylvania New York	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures Business Computer and Information Science Visual & Performing Arts	Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences Health Professions Education Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	81.3%	81.1%
Dropout rate	4.1%	18.7%
Transferred out	14.4%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,668 Year 2: $50,439 Year 3: $60,027 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: $45,885 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,270 Year 2: $32,569 Year 3: $45,530 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,133 Year 2: $36,134 Year 3: $45,058 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $44,127 Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,288 Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: $39,071 Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $35,840 Sociology and Anthropology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,362 Year 2: $23,649 Year 3: $35,544 Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,013 Year 2: $24,421 Year 3: $33,940 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,424 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $33,345	Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,305 Year 2: $53,358 Year 3: $77,743 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,838 Year 2: $62,792 Year 3: $73,001 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,460 Year 2: $62,775 Year 3: $69,764 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,302 Year 2: $50,356 Year 3: $56,336 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,739 Year 3: $46,139 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,272 Year 2: $31,314 Year 3: $39,988 Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $18,075 Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $30,321 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: N/A Music (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $27,439 Year 3: N/A Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $36,674 Year 3: N/A

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