FIU-Miami vs Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)

Florida International University (FIU) and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) are two distinct universities with unique offerings and characteristics. FIU, located in Miami, Florida, boasts a diverse student body and a vibrant campus life, while VCU, situated in Richmond, Virginia, is known for its strong research programs and urban setting. With acceptance rates of 53% and 79%, respectively, FIU is slightly more selective than VCU. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, with popular majors including Business, Engineering, and Health Sciences at FIU, and Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at VCU. While FIU has a higher graduation rate of 62% compared to VCU's 59%, both universities provide ample opportunities for students to succeed academically and professionally. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about the differences between these two institutions and make an informed decision about which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Florida International University	Virginia Commonwealth University
Overview
Location	Miami, Florida	Richmond, Virginia
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	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	90.0%	84.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	64.0%	92.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70
SAT range	1060 - 1240	1070 - 1300
ACT range	21 - 27	20 - 29
Students submitting SAT score	87.0%	29.0%
Students submitting ACT score	13.0%	5.0%
Total number of applicants	16,406	17,579
Total number of admissions given out	10,502	16,308
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,061	4,084
Yield rate	38.7%	25.0%
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: $26,903 Out of state: $39,301	In state: $36,861 Out of state: $58,199
Average net price	$9,398	$19,656
Tuition	In state: $4,721 Out of state: $16,529	In state: $12,094 Out of state: $32,742
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,488 Meal plan: $3,588	Room/dormitory: $6,953 Meal plan: $5,820
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	94.0% Average amount $11,586	78.0% Average amount $13,623
Students receiving federal student loan	85.0% Average amount $5,224	44.0% Average amount $5,174
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $12,824	8.0% Average amount $17,903

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	46,415 Men 43.4% Women 56.6%	21,394 Men 36.9% Women 63.1%
Graduate students	10,249 Men 38.5% Women 61.5%	7,200 Men 33.7% Women 66.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	7.0%
International students	7.9%	3.6%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	3,688	5,958
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Virginia Maryland North Carolina New Jersey Pennsylvania

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Engineering Education Multidisciplinary Studies	Health Professions Visual & Performing Arts Business Public Administration and Social Service Multidisciplinary Studies
Students to faculty ratio	24:1	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	67.1%	67.6%
Dropout rate	9.5%	10.5%
Transferred out	17.9%	19.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,867 Year 2: $166,709 Year 3: $162,730 Computer Systems Analysis (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $64,550 Year 2: $84,653 Year 3: $100,244 Construction Engineering Technologies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $75,373 Year 2: $74,200 Year 3: $85,116 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,847 Year 2: $73,949 Year 3: $80,186 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,376 Year 2: $72,274 Year 3: $77,169 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,392 Year 2: $66,897 Year 3: $76,277 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $65,334 Year 2: $62,579 Year 3: $75,146 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $67,605 Year 2: $67,685 Year 3: $73,550 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,490 Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $72,602 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,454 Year 2: $59,485 Year 3: $72,563	Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $234,763 Year 3: $225,432 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $166,030 Year 2: $181,454 Year 3: $181,915 Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $87,586 Year 2: $106,935 Year 3: $134,578 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $101,582 Year 2: $119,256 Year 3: $121,903 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $94,371 Year 2: $93,178 Year 3: $105,544 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $94,094 Year 2: $93,467 Year 3: $97,893 Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,759 Year 2: $86,867 Year 3: $94,244 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $73,726 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $90,664 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $77,993 Year 2: $89,305 Year 3: $82,470 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,920 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $82,210

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.