Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) vs Illinois State

Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) and Illinois State University (ISU) are two public universities with distinct characteristics. EKU, located in Richmond, Kentucky, has an acceptance rate of 86%, while ISU, situated in Normal, Illinois, has a slightly lower acceptance rate of 80%. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors at EKU including Nursing, Business Administration, and Education, and popular majors at ISU including Business, Education, and Psychology. EKU's student body is predominantly White (79%), while ISU's student body is more diverse, with a larger proportion of Black or African American students (14%) and Hispanic or Latino students (13%). In terms of graduation rates, ISU has a slightly higher four-year graduation rate (38%) compared to EKU's (33%). To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we have compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into these aspects

	Eastern Kentucky University	Illinois State University
Overview
Location	Richmond, Kentucky	Normal, Illinois
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: 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	74.0%	83.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	98.3%	91.5%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50
SAT range	950 - 1180	1000 - 1200
ACT range	18 - 24	21 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	4.0%	51.0%
Students submitting ACT score	88.0%	19.0%
Total number of applicants	7,251	11,913
Total number of admissions given out	7,131	10,905
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,493	3,374
Yield rate	35.0%	30.9%
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	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $23,762 Out of state: $34,034	In state: $31,811 Out of state: $43,335
Average net price	$14,271	$21,033
Tuition	In state: $9,452 Out of state: $19,724	In state: $11,524 Out of state: $23,048
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,416 Meal plan: $3,994	Room/dormitory: $5,494 Meal plan: $4,652
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $9,891	91.0% Average amount $10,848
Students receiving federal student loan	49.0% Average amount $4,950	46.0% Average amount $5,065
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $10,455	8.0% Average amount $14,532

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	11,684 Men 40.6% Women 59.4%	17,674 Men 43.0% Women 57.0%
Graduate students	2,300 Men 30.0% Women 70.0%	2,559 Men 35.1% Women 64.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	4.2%
International students	1.1%	2.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	4,479	5,560
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Ohio Illinois Indiana West Virginia	Illinois Missouri Wisconsin Michigan Iowa

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Law Enforcement and Firefighting Liberal Arts Engineering Technologies	Education Health Professions Business Communication and Journalism Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	19:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	47.8%	67.3%
Dropout rate	48.5%	32.0%
Transferred out	1.6%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $110,878 Year 3: $113,532 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $94,123 Year 2: $90,291 Year 3: $95,519 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,935 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $78,046 Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $73,209 Year 2: $74,105 Year 3: $74,692 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,585 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $71,030 Educational Administration and Supervision (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $54,959 Year 2: $60,523 Year 3: $62,961 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,605 Year 2: $49,019 Year 3: $62,600 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,959 Year 2: $60,523 Year 3: $61,708 Fire Protection (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,702 Year 2: $49,787 Year 3: $58,036 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,745 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $57,935	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,556 Year 2: $95,930 Year 3: $102,485 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,002 Year 2: $64,990 Year 3: $78,276 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,303 Year 2: $72,884 Year 3: $77,896 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,576 Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $73,936 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,516 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $73,592 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $62,000 Year 2: $64,791 Year 3: $70,358 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,829 Year 2: $65,194 Year 3: $65,533 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,294 Year 2: $54,996 Year 3: $64,567 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,313 Year 2: $52,781 Year 3: $64,241 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,480 Year 2: $54,470 Year 3: $63,207

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