Florida Atlantic University (FAU) vs Western Kentucky University (WKU)

Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Western Kentucky University (WKU) are two distinct universities with unique offerings. FAU, located in Boca Raton, Florida, boasts a diverse student body and a wide range of academic programs, while WKU, situated in Bowling Green, Kentucky, is known for its strong focus on undergraduate education and its vibrant campus life. With acceptance rates of 58% and 88%, respectively, FAU attracts a more selective pool of applicants compared to WKU. Both universities offer popular majors such as business, nursing, and education, but FAU excels in engineering and computer science, while WKU is renowned for its programs in journalism and public relations. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details about these universities, including student demographics, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your decision.

	Florida Atlantic University	Western Kentucky University
Overview
Location	Boca Raton, Florida	Bowling Green, Kentucky
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Small
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	80.0%	73.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	78.0%	98.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30	Undergraduate: $45 Graduate: $65
SAT range	1020 - 1200	N/A
ACT range	20 - 26	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	77.0%
Students submitting ACT score	23.0%
Total number of applicants	25,148	7,255
Total number of admissions given out	19,617	7,145
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,925	2,832
Yield rate	20.0%	39.6%
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: $24,605 Out of state: $37,050	In state: $27,895 Out of state: $43,903
Average net price	$8,771	$12,395
Tuition	In state: $2,522 Out of state: $14,374	In state: $10,992 Out of state: $27,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,100 Meal plan: $3,902	Room/dormitory: $6,744 Meal plan: $3,964
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	82.0% Average amount $11,013	98.0% Average amount $9,576
Students receiving federal student loan	28.0% Average amount $4,899	47.0% Average amount $5,128
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $14,642	5.0% Average amount $9,983

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	24,799 Men 41.9% Women 58.1%	14,729 Men 37.8% Women 62.2%
Graduate students	5,356 Men 38.0% Women 62.0%	2,021 Men 34.1% Women 65.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	3.8%	1.1%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	5,131	4,942
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Tennessee Indiana Illinois Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Education Multidisciplinary Studies Engineering	Health Professions Business Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Public Administration and Social Service
Students to faculty ratio	21:1	18:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	55.4%	53.6%
Dropout rate	11.4%	22.1%
Transferred out	31.1%	22.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $88,871 Year 2: $90,061 Year 3: $92,028 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $74,217 Year 2: $92,632 Year 3: $86,797 Taxation (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $70,866 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $79,750 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,854 Year 2: $64,865 Year 3: $74,441 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,298 Year 2: $63,600 Year 3: $73,548 Ocean Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,746 Year 2: $63,377 Year 3: $73,462 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,965 Year 2: $63,463 Year 3: $72,097 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $65,830 Year 2: $59,688 Year 3: $70,868 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,372 Year 2: $64,415 Year 3: $67,956 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,039 Year 2: $58,221 Year 3: $66,720	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $76,015 Year 2: $86,696 Year 3: $95,431 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $71,960 Year 2: $76,998 Year 3: $77,293 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,199 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $77,197 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,704 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $68,358 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,193 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $66,850 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,992 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $65,815 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,607 Year 2: $61,144 Year 3: $65,553 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,759 Year 2: $51,551 Year 3: $57,443 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $53,729 Year 2: $52,897 Year 3: $56,104 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,172 Year 2: $56,281 Year 3: $55,609

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