K-State vs California State University-Northridge (CSUN)

Kansas State University (KSU) and California State University-Northridge (CSUN) are two distinct universities with unique offerings and characteristics. KSU, located in Manhattan, Kansas, is a public research university with a strong focus on agriculture, engineering, and veterinary medicine. CSUN, situated in the heart of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, California, is a comprehensive university known for its diverse student body, strong arts programs, and commitment to community engagement. While both universities share similarities in terms of academic quality and affordability, they differ in several key aspects, including acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover which university better aligns with your academic aspirations, personal preferences, and future goals.

	California State University-Northridge	Kansas State University
Overview
Location	Northridge, California	Manhattan, Kansas
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Small
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%	86.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.1%	95.6%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $65
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	23,656	9,822
Total number of admissions given out	20,842	9,391
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,716	2,848
Yield rate	22.6%	30.3%
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)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $31,857 Out of state: $43,737	In state: $23,866 Out of state: $39,937
Average net price	$8,708	$19,874
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	In state: $9,489 Out of state: $25,560
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,316 Meal plan: $4,506	Room/dormitory: $5,200 Meal plan: $4,900
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	82.0% Average amount $10,882	88.0% Average amount $6,774
Students receiving federal student loan	14.0% Average amount $4,779	41.0% Average amount $5,095
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $12,360	5.0% Average amount $14,579

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	34,496 Men 45.0% Women 55.0%	15,619 Men 50.3% Women 49.7%
Graduate students	5,612 Men 33.0% Women 67.0%	4,610 Men 38.7% Women 61.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Very Low
Out-of-state students	1.7%	21.8%
International students	6.0%	5.4%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	4,029	5,696
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Washington Hawaii Nevada Texas	Kansas Missouri Texas Nebraska Colorado

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Engineering Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Public Administration and Social Service Computer and Information Science	Education Business Agriculture Engineering Multidisciplinary Studies
Students to faculty ratio	26:1	19:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	54.2%	68.4%
Dropout rate	33.7%	9.3%
Transferred out	5.6%	20.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $95,739 Year 3: $108,158 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $89,831 Year 2: $92,124 Year 3: $98,535 Taxation (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $72,745 Year 2: $86,867 Year 3: $97,852 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $83,455 Year 2: $88,907 Year 3: $96,626 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $79,863 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $92,559 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $80,493 Year 3: $92,252 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $83,281 Year 2: $83,669 Year 3: $89,964 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,782 Year 2: $75,047 Year 3: $84,221 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,859 Year 2: $73,070 Year 3: $82,977 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,180 Year 2: $76,863 Year 3: $82,194	Food Science and Technology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $75,367 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $83,284 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,831 Year 2: $71,734 Year 3: $83,247 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $43,832 Year 2: $68,219 Year 3: $82,805 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,780 Year 2: $70,456 Year 3: $81,885 Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $72,427 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $80,450 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,948 Year 2: $62,012 Year 3: $79,928 Architectural Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,390 Year 2: $65,557 Year 3: $75,955 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,670 Year 2: $65,131 Year 3: $73,437 Agricultural and Food Products Processing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,969 Year 2: $63,749 Year 3: $69,822 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,353 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $65,198

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