FMU-Florence vs Spelman College

Francis Marion University and Spelman College, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Francis Marion University, a public university located in Florence, South Carolina, boasts an acceptance rate of 75%, making it a more accessible option for prospective students. Spelman College, a private, historically Black women's college in Atlanta, Georgia, has a more selective admissions process, with an acceptance rate of 49%. Both institutions offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors at Francis Marion University including Business Administration, Education, and Nursing, while Spelman College is known for its strengths in the fields of Biology, Psychology, and Economics. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further distinctions between these two institutions, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your college decision.

	Francis Marion University	Spelman College
Overview
Location	Florence, South Carolina	Atlanta, Georgia
Campus setting	Suburb: Small	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	66.0%	91.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	86.1%	50.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $41 Graduate: $41	$40
SAT range	930 - 1120	N/A
ACT range	15 - 22	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	20.0%
Students submitting ACT score	19.0%
Total number of applicants	3,028	11,176
Total number of admissions given out	2,608	5,673
Admitted students who chose to enroll	699	794
Yield rate	26.8%	14.0%
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)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $24,351 Out of state: $34,735	$48,244
Average net price	$13,299	$28,527
Tuition	In state: $10,384 Out of state: $20,768	$25,249
Room & board	$8,230	$15,063
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $10,192	96.0% Average amount $10,839
Students receiving federal student loan	59.0% Average amount $5,579	76.0% Average amount $5,707
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $7,593	5.0% Average amount $13,717

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,475 Men 33.3% Women 66.7%	2,417 Men 0.0% Women 100.0%
Graduate students	448 Men 22.8% Women 77.2%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	4.4%	76.0%
International students	1.6%	0.7%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,413	1,401
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	South Carolina North Carolina Florida Georgia Texas	Georgia Maryland Texas California New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Business Psychology Visual & Performing Arts	Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Psychology Health Professions English Language and Literature
Students to faculty ratio	13:1	11:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	43.2%	76.2%
Dropout rate	15.9%	9.2%
Transferred out	38.3%	13.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,582 Year 2: $101,964 Year 3: $110,561 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,618 Year 2: $58,866 Year 3: $60,568 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $41,080 Year 2: $43,426 Year 3: $47,870 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,649 Year 3: $40,311 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,861 Year 2: $28,443 Year 3: $34,636 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,038 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: $34,338 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,535 Year 2: $31,314 Year 3: $34,010 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,804 Year 2: $28,180 Year 3: $32,997 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,805 Year 2: $30,157 Year 3: $32,022 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,652 Year 3: $31,548	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,695 Year 2: $48,667 Year 3: $59,027 International/Global Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,667 Year 2: $37,748 Year 3: $52,483 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,355 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $44,720 Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,573 Year 2: $35,600 Year 3: $39,388 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,944 Year 2: $25,525 Year 3: $39,024 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,532 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $38,350 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,318 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $20,552 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,181 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: N/A Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $15,552 Year 3: N/A

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.