Fairmont State vs Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU)

Fairmont State University and Middle Tennessee State University, located in West Virginia and Tennessee respectively, offer distinct educational experiences for prospective students. Fairmont State, a public university with an acceptance rate of 98%, boasts a close-knit community and a focus on undergraduate education. Middle Tennessee State, also a public university, has a higher acceptance rate of 99% and is known for its diverse student body and strong graduate programs. While both universities offer a wide range of academic programs, Fairmont State excels in fields like nursing, education, and business, while Middle Tennessee State shines in areas such as engineering, music, and agriculture. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about the differences in tuition, graduation rates, student demographics, and popular majors, helping you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Fairmont State University	Middle Tennessee State University
Overview
Location	Fairmont, West Virginia	Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Campus setting	Town: Distant	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	61.0%	75.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	98.8%	68.4%
Application fees	$50	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $35
SAT range	900 - 1090	1010 - 1210
ACT range	17 - 23	19 - 26
Students submitting SAT score	46.0%	7.0%
Students submitting ACT score	34.0%	92.0%
Total number of applicants	1,767	11,244
Total number of admissions given out	1,745	7,691
Admitted students who chose to enroll	655	2,752
Yield rate	37.5%	35.8%
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	In state: $20,914 Out of state: $30,172	In state: $24,554 Out of state: $43,586
Average net price	$11,277	$12,617
Tuition	In state: $5,946 Out of state: $14,992	In state: $7,344 Out of state: $26,376
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,624 Meal plan: $4,574	$9,576
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	94.0% Average amount $6,593	97.0% Average amount $8,747
Students receiving federal student loan	53.0% Average amount $4,996	36.0% Average amount $4,835
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $11,907	3.0% Average amount $12,638

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,273 Men 40.6% Women 59.4%	18,603 Men 45.2% Women 54.8%
Graduate students	289 Men 32.9% Women 67.1%	2,965 Men 36.1% Women 63.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	11.1%	N/A
International students	1.6%	2.4%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	1,058	2,518
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	West Virginia Pennsylvania Maryland Virginia Ohio	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Engineering Technologies Education Liberal Arts Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Business Visual & Performing Arts Multidisciplinary Studies Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	45.4%	53.7%
Dropout rate	33.9%	14.7%
Transferred out	20.6%	28.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,279 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $62,993 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,620 Year 2: $63,855 Year 3: $61,157 Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,294 Year 2: $54,153 Year 3: $58,294 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $58,529 Year 2: $56,641 Year 3: $56,475 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $39,809 Year 2: $37,306 Year 3: $43,308 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,042 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: $41,321 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,631 Year 2: $30,409 Year 3: $39,952 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,253 Year 2: $31,189 Year 3: $39,801 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,125 Year 2: $31,495 Year 3: $38,357 Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,334 Year 2: $28,816 Year 3: $34,425	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $88,408 Year 2: $85,760 Year 3: $90,571 Psychology, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $49,120 Year 2: $59,485 Year 3: $88,221 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,903 Year 2: $66,104 Year 3: $78,609 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,709 Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $72,118 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,220 Year 2: $66,541 Year 3: $69,654 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $57,896 Year 2: $57,860 Year 3: $67,093 Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,963 Year 2: $57,995 Year 3: $66,752 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,662 Year 2: $54,192 Year 3: $66,144 Engineering-Related Fields (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,628 Year 2: $58,943 Year 3: $61,839 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,209 Year 2: $55,061 Year 3: $58,677

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Fairmont State

Athens State University