Keene State vs Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU)

Keene State College and Southern New Hampshire University, both located in New Hampshire, offer distinct educational experiences. Keene State, a public liberal arts college, boasts a 79% acceptance rate and a diverse student body, with 4,500 undergraduates representing 28 states and 40 countries. Southern New Hampshire, a private university with a strong online presence, has a higher acceptance rate of 90% and a larger student population of over 14,000, including a significant number of online learners. While Keene State excels in popular majors like psychology, education, and business, Southern New Hampshire is known for its business, nursing, and computer science programs. Both institutions offer competitive graduation rates, with Keene State at 62% and Southern New Hampshire at 58%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which institution aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Keene State College	Southern New Hampshire University
Overview
Location	Keene, New Hampshire	Manchester, New Hampshire
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Midsize
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	75.0%	62.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.1%	92.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50
SAT range	970 - 1170	N/A
ACT range	24 - 25	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	16.0%
Students submitting ACT score	1.0%
Total number of applicants	4,796	27,953
Total number of admissions given out	4,225	25,736
Admitted students who chose to enroll	749	10,607
Yield rate	17.7%	41.2%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $27,606 Out of state: $37,962	$38,518
Average net price	$20,058	$21,502
Tuition	In state: $11,754 Out of state: $22,110	$15,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,730 Meal plan: $4,798	Room/dormitory: $8,000 Meal plan: $4,200
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $9,531	79.0% Average amount $6,006
Students receiving federal student loan	72.0% Average amount $5,158	50.0% Average amount $5,176
Students taking out private loans	25.0% Average amount $14,663	0.0% Average amount $7,258

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,964 Men 45.5% Women 54.5%	121,884 Men 36.8% Women 63.2%
Graduate students	136 Men 37.5% Women 62.5%	23,649 Men 31.9% Women 68.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	51.2%	93.2%
International students	0.4%	0.6%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	2,058	1,934
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New Hampshire Mississippi Connecticut Vermont New York	Texas New Hampshire Pennsylvania California Georgia

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Visual & Performing Arts Health Professions Social Sciences Computer and Information Science	Business Health Professions Psychology Liberal Arts Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	24:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	59.9%	39.1%
Dropout rate	39.9%	34.5%
Transferred out	N/A	24.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,023 Year 2: $62,839 Year 3: $68,170 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,926 Year 2: $55,693 Year 3: $61,948 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,424 Year 2: $49,980 Year 3: $61,103 Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,470 Year 2: $40,368 Year 3: $50,477 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,118 Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $49,079 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,889 Year 2: $44,542 Year 3: $48,338 Architecture (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,199 Year 2: $40,461 Year 3: $47,388 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,128 Year 2: $41,789 Year 3: $45,814 Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,745 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $45,468 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,382 Year 2: $35,653 Year 3: $44,504	Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $75,875 Year 2: $83,177 Year 3: $94,544 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,753 Year 2: $73,898 Year 3: $77,504 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $67,717 Year 2: $69,218 Year 3: $76,866 Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $67,435 Year 2: $68,219 Year 3: $72,152 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,002 Year 2: $61,218 Year 3: $69,749 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $64,617 Year 2: $65,734 Year 3: $68,411 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,193 Year 2: $60,320 Year 3: $68,398 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $52,944 Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: $65,098 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,847 Year 2: $58,622 Year 3: $63,145 Human Resources Management and Services (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $54,435 Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: $61,662

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