Governors State vs Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)

Governors State University (GSU) and Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) are two distinct institutions of higher learning with unique characteristics. GSU, located in University Park, Illinois, is a public university with a focus on liberal arts and sciences, while FGCU, situated in Fort Myers, Florida, is a public research university known for its strong programs in business, health professions, and engineering. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate and graduate programs, but they differ in terms of acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. This side-by-side comparison will delve into these key differences to help prospective students make informed decisions about their higher education journey.

	Florida Gulf Coast University	Governors State University
Overview
Location	Fort Myers, Florida	University Park, Illinois
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Rural: Fringe
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	82.0%	48.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	89.2%	52.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1010 - 1180	830 - 1060
ACT range	19 - 25	16 - 22
Students submitting SAT score	79.0%	21.0%
Students submitting ACT score	45.0%	2.0%
Total number of applicants	14,462	1,168
Total number of admissions given out	12,901	608
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,125	194
Yield rate	24.2%	31.9%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $20,390 Out of state: $39,434	In state: $25,746 Out of state: $33,258
Average net price	$9,840	$9,943
Tuition	In state: $4,191 Out of state: $22,328	In state: $7,512 Out of state: $15,024
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,820 Meal plan: $4,346	Room/dormitory: $7,729 Meal plan: $3,000
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	78.0% Average amount $6,754	88.0% Average amount $10,791
Students receiving federal student loan	30.0% Average amount $7,251	41.0% Average amount $5,514
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $16,201	1.0% Average amount $5,587

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	14,228 Men 42.9% Women 57.1%	2,709 Men 36.5% Women 63.5%
Graduate students	1,681 Men 29.2% Women 70.8%	1,686 Men 31.7% Women 68.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	17.6%	5.2%
International students	2.1%	7.3%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Rural: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	4,732	272
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Florida Illinois New Jersey Pennsylvania Ohio	Illinois Indiana Florida Michigan Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Multidisciplinary Studies Liberal Arts Education Engineering	Health Professions Business Computer and Information Science Psychology Liberal Arts
Students to faculty ratio	22:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	56.2%	15.8%
Dropout rate	26.2%	37.4%
Transferred out	13.4%	43.8%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,910 Year 2: $59,722 Year 3: $85,341 Computer Software and Media Applications (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $74,972 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $70,296 Year 3: $73,324 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,429 Year 2: $66,821 Year 3: $68,880 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,840 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $68,095 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,707 Year 2: $47,520 Year 3: $65,837 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,279 Year 2: $62,409 Year 3: $64,731 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,799 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $63,963 Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,944 Year 2: $46,769 Year 3: $59,253 Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,874 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $58,083	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $87,815 Year 2: $93,224 Year 3: $95,009 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,988 Year 2: $81,491 Year 3: $87,571 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,354 Year 2: $73,635 Year 3: $81,519 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $72,424 Year 2: $75,270 Year 3: $77,385 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $67,463 Year 2: $65,695 Year 3: $72,555 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $66,333 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,558 Year 2: $55,151 Year 3: $52,548 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $48,935 Year 3: $51,608 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,325 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: $51,565 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,762 Year 2: $44,595 Year 3: $51,524

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Governors State vs Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)

Florida Gulf Coast University

Governors State University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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