George Mason University (GMU) vs University of Memphis (UofM)

George Mason University and the University of Memphis, both public research universities, offer distinct educational experiences. George Mason, located in Fairfax, Virginia, boasts a higher acceptance rate (73%) compared to the University of Memphis (59%) in Tennessee. While both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, George Mason excels in engineering, computer science, and public policy, while the University of Memphis is renowned for its music, education, and nursing programs. The student body demographics also differ, with George Mason having a larger international student population and the University of Memphis having a higher percentage of undergraduate students. Additionally, George Mason's graduation rate (78%) is slightly higher than that of the University of Memphis (72%). Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	George Mason University	University of Memphis
Overview
Location	Fairfax, Virginia	Memphis, Tennessee
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: Large
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	84.0%	72.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	91.3%	95.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $35
SAT range	1140 - 1350	N/A
ACT range	25 - 30	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	37.0%
Students submitting ACT score	3.0%
Total number of applicants	20,527	14,916
Total number of admissions given out	18,741	14,201
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,986	2,593
Yield rate	21.3%	18.3%
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: $35,263 Out of state: $58,723	In state: $26,429 Out of state: $30,461
Average net price	$18,841	$14,251
Tuition	In state: $9,510 Out of state: $32,970	In state: $8,352 Out of state: $12,384
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,620 Meal plan: $5,010	Room/dormitory: $6,020 Meal plan: $4,414
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	70.0% Average amount $10,110	95.0% Average amount $9,642
Students receiving federal student loan	43.0% Average amount $5,006	43.0% Average amount $4,996
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $18,474	2.0% Average amount $12,990

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	26,882 Men 50.4% Women 49.6%	16,702 Men 39.4% Women 60.6%
Graduate students	11,746 Men 40.7% Women 59.3%	4,920 Men 38.6% Women 61.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	18.9%	17.9%
International students	8.0%	4.2%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	6,513	2,683
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Virginia Maryland District of Columbia Pennsylvania New York	Tennessee Mississippi Arkansas Illinois Missouri

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Computer and Information Science Engineering	Health Professions Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Business Education Multidisciplinary Studies
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	70.1%	54.4%
Dropout rate	9.6%	27.8%
Transferred out	16.5%	14.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,837 Year 2: $109,763 Year 3: $127,586 Homeland Security (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,476 Year 2: $127,993 Year 3: $120,573 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,886 Year 2: $99,709 Year 3: $117,377 Computer Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $112,424 Year 2: $101,072 Year 3: $115,693 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $98,841 Year 2: $105,585 Year 3: $113,896 Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $121,226 Year 2: $92,632 Year 3: $105,664 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $101,843 Year 2: $100,690 Year 3: $101,702 Medical Illustration and Informatics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,386 Year 2: $84,653 Year 3: $101,604 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,911 Year 2: $91,448 Year 3: $99,722 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $94,065 Year 2: $92,277 Year 3: $94,785	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,183 Year 2: $90,482 Year 3: $93,053 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,578 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $83,771 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $77,569 Year 2: $73,446 Year 3: $81,572 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,053 Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: $72,912 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,497 Year 2: $60,623 Year 3: $71,690 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,138 Year 2: $63,749 Year 3: $68,655 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,294 Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $68,033 Engineering Technology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,203 Year 2: $61,020 Year 3: $64,943 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,998 Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $62,591 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $50,920 Year 2: $51,035 Year 3: $61,841

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.