Fort Hays State University (FHSU) vs South Dakota State University (SDSU)

Fort Hays State University and South Dakota State University, both public institutions with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Fort Hays, located in Hays, Kansas, is known for its strong liberal arts and sciences programs, while South Dakota State, situated in Brookings, South Dakota, excels in agriculture, engineering, and nursing. With acceptance rates of 88% and 86%, respectively, both universities welcome a diverse student body. Fort Hays boasts a higher graduation rate of 54%, compared to South Dakota State's 49%. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these universities' tuition fees, popular majors, student demographics, and other key factors, helping you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Fort Hays State University	South Dakota State University
Overview
Location	Hays, Kansas	Brookings, South Dakota
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Town: Remote
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	73.0%	80.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	90.3%	87.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $40	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $35
SAT range	N/A	980 - 1220
ACT range	N/A	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score		3.0%
Students submitting ACT score		86.0%
Total number of applicants	1,997	5,774
Total number of admissions given out	1,804	5,048
Admitted students who chose to enroll	955	2,019
Yield rate	52.9%	40.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $19,364 Out of state: $29,804	In state: $24,304 Out of state: $27,814
Average net price	$13,788	$17,859
Tuition	In state: $4,140 Out of state: $14,580	In state: $7,773 Out of state: $11,283
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,047 Meal plan: $4,326	Room/dormitory: $4,054 Meal plan: $4,082
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	91.0% Average amount $5,027	81.0% Average amount $4,747
Students receiving federal student loan	50.0% Average amount $5,059	60.0% Average amount $5,063
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $9,055	17.0% Average amount $9,956

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	11,402 Men 39.1% Women 60.9%	9,847 Men 45.2% Women 54.8%
Graduate students	2,700 Men 29.7% Women 70.3%	1,618 Men 37.3% Women 62.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	1.7%	5.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	1,731	4,488
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Education Health Professions Liberal Arts Social Sciences	Health Professions Engineering Family and Consumer Sciences Education Agriculture
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	50.5%	59.5%
Dropout rate	31.2%	38.9%
Transferred out	15.0%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $85,036 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $99,232 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,228 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $67,227 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,873 Year 2: $57,461 Year 3: $61,895 Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,104 Year 2: $57,995 Year 3: $60,659 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $48,849 Year 3: $59,909 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,167 Year 2: $51,392 Year 3: $57,191 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,360 Year 2: $55,512 Year 3: $53,880 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $51,829 Year 3: $52,488 Information Science/Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,081 Year 2: $47,846 Year 3: $49,888 Educational/Instructional Media Design (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,407 Year 2: $48,432 Year 3: $49,592	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $110,688 Year 2: $117,014 Year 3: $126,250 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $92,277 Year 3: $114,802 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,967 Year 2: $74,845 Year 3: $81,032 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,229 Year 2: $61,322 Year 3: $70,114 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,268 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $62,932 Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,985 Year 2: $56,234 Year 3: $61,104 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,372 Year 2: $57,860 Year 3: $60,463 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,551 Year 2: $56,776 Year 3: $59,988 Plant Sciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,213 Year 2: $55,151 Year 3: $55,715 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $54,439

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