George Washington University (GWU) vs The Pennsylvania State University (PSU)

When it comes to higher education, George Washington University (GWU) and The Pennsylvania State University (PSU) stand out as two prominent institutions with distinct offerings. GWU, located in the heart of Washington, D.C., boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 35%, while PSU, situated in University Park, Pennsylvania, offers a more accessible route with an acceptance rate of 54%. Both universities excel in different academic areas; GWU is renowned for its strong programs in political science, international affairs, and public policy, while PSU shines in engineering, business, and agricultural sciences. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further distinctions between these two esteemed universities, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and popular majors, to help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	George Washington University	The Pennsylvania State University
Overview
Location	Washington, District of Columbia	University Park, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	91.0%	87.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	49.7%	92.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $80 Graduate: $80	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	1310 - 1490	1140 - 1360
ACT range	30 - 34	25 - 31
Students submitting SAT score	29.0%	32.0%
Students submitting ACT score	18.0%	6.0%
Total number of applicants	27,236	96,686
Total number of admissions given out	13,539	89,207
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,571	16,049
Yield rate	19.0%	18.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$78,335	In state: $38,270 Out of state: $55,848
Average net price	$31,240	$24,012
Tuition	$59,780	In state: $18,368 Out of state: $35,946
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $15,260 Meal plan: $3,240	Room/dormitory: $7,360 Meal plan: $5,618
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	74.0% Average amount $31,678	51.0% Average amount $9,884
Students receiving federal student loan	30.0% Average amount $5,150	49.0% Average amount $5,305
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $25,366	13.0% Average amount $19,837

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	11,502 Men 36.3% Women 63.7%	73,476 Men 53.7% Women 46.3%
Graduate students	14,955 Men 38.1% Women 61.9%	15,438 Men 51.7% Women 48.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	98.7%	34.1%
International students	11.6%	10.5%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	6,693	20,547
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York New Jersey Virginia California Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania New Jersey New York Maryland Virginia

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Social Sciences Legal Profession Computer and Information Science	Business Engineering Computer and Information Science Health Professions Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	83.7%	72.3%
Dropout rate	16.1%	25.7%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Systems Engineering (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $160,692 Year 2: $146,893 Year 3: $153,607 Human Resources Management and Services (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $124,764 Year 2: $106,421 Year 3: $130,306 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $124,241 Year 2: $127,142 Year 3: $127,952 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $107,834 Year 2: $114,046 Year 3: $119,393 Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $106,809 Year 2: $101,072 Year 3: $112,813 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $98,922 Year 2: $104,061 Year 3: $111,679 Public Health (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $84,962 Year 2: $104,192 Year 3: $105,816 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $104,747 Year 2: $96,405 Year 3: $105,562 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,274 Year 2: $101,254 Year 3: $103,350 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $77,345 Year 2: $83,177 Year 3: $102,875	Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $109,295 Year 2: $120,549 Year 3: $125,527 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,798 Year 2: $95,930 Year 3: $120,289 Computer Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,190 Year 2: $97,959 Year 3: $113,544 Mining and Mineral Engineering (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $98,403 Year 3: $108,754 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,372 Year 2: $100,455 Year 3: $107,874 Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,574 Year 2: $99,291 Year 3: $104,370 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,304 Year 2: $97,855 Year 3: $104,056 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,512 Year 2: $94,864 Year 3: $103,461 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $92,632 Year 3: $98,201 Nuclear Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $89,155 Year 3: $94,780

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.