Ferris State vs Saint Mary's College

Ferris State University and Saint Mary's College, two distinct institutions with unique offerings, stand ready to shape your academic journey. Ferris State, a public university in Big Rapids, Michigan, boasts a 99% acceptance rate, welcoming a diverse student body of over 13,000. Saint Mary's, a private, Catholic college in Notre Dame, Indiana, maintains a more selective admissions process with a 75% acceptance rate and a smaller student population of around 1,700. While Ferris State excels in programs like Engineering, Construction, and Business, Saint Mary's shines in fields such as Nursing, Biology, and Psychology. Explore the detailed comparison table below to uncover further distinctions in graduation rates, tuition fees, and other crucial factors that will guide your decision toward the institution that best aligns with your aspirations.

	Ferris State University	Saint Mary's College
Overview
Location	Big Rapids, Michigan	Notre Dame, Indiana
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	77.0%	81.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	84.8%	83.1%
Application fees
SAT range	930 - 1150	1055 - 1265
ACT range	19 - 26	22 - 30
Students submitting SAT score	66.0%	41.0%
Students submitting ACT score	5.0%	26.0%
Total number of applicants	10,480	2,351
Total number of admissions given out	8,884	1,953
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,405	375
Yield rate	15.8%	19.2%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$24,285	$60,160
Average net price	$13,624	$27,686
Tuition	$12,740	$47,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,450 Meal plan: $4,678	$13,120
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	90.0% Average amount $10,575	100.0% Average amount $34,350
Students receiving federal student loan	54.0% Average amount $5,319	64.0% Average amount $5,152
Students taking out private loans	10.0% Average amount $12,922	13.0% Average amount $16,919

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,248 Men 47.2% Women 52.8%	1,402 Men 0.2% Women 99.8%
Graduate students	1,113 Men 34.2% Women 65.8%	125 Men 6.4% Women 93.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	6.6%	63.7%
International students	1.4%	0.7%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	3,312	1,274
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Michigan Illinois Florida Indiana Wisconsin	Indiana Illinois Michigan Ohio Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Engineering Technologies Law Enforcement and Firefighting Visual & Performing Arts	Health Professions Communication and Journalism Mathematics and Statistics Education Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	47.7%	74.5%
Dropout rate	39.2%	10.7%
Transferred out	10.5%	14.8%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $110,849 Year 2: $123,608 Year 3: $124,236 Optometry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $93,610 Year 2: $97,071 Year 3: $107,632 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,938 Year 2: $74,122 Year 3: $77,998 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $65,051 Year 2: $81,498 Year 3: $77,389 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $75,822 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $82,062 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $75,775 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,334 Year 2: $64,837 Year 3: $75,354 Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,507 Year 2: $67,240 Year 3: $71,530 Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,480 Year 2: $69,535 Year 3: $70,863 Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,397 Year 2: $65,905 Year 3: $70,419	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,091 Year 2: $53,537 Year 3: $71,322 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,921 Year 2: $59,599 Year 3: $65,939 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,943 Year 2: $41,342 Year 3: $50,481 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,834 Year 2: $40,737 Year 3: $41,035 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,367 Year 2: $24,421 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,220 Year 2: $26,896 Year 3: N/A Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $45,715 Year 3: N/A Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,382 Year 3: N/A Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,752 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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Ferris State vs Saint Mary's College

Ferris State University

Saint Mary's College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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