Kent State vs Western Michigan University (WMU)

Kent State University at Kent and Western Michigan University, both esteemed public universities in the Midwest, offer distinct educational experiences. Kent State boasts a higher acceptance rate, making it a more accessible option for aspiring students. Western Michigan, on the other hand, has a slightly higher graduation rate, indicating a strong commitment to student success. While Kent State excels in majors like nursing, education, and business, Western Michigan shines in fields such as engineering, aviation, and health sciences. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further differences, including student body demographics, tuition fees, and campus life, to determine which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Kent State University at Kent	Western Michigan University
Overview
Location	Kent, Ohio	Kalamazoo, Michigan
Campus setting	Suburb: 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	81.0%	77.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	87.3%	82.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $45	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1000 - 1210	1000 - 1220
ACT range	19 - 25	21 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	18.0%	37.0%
Students submitting ACT score	66.0%	7.0%
Total number of applicants	19,881	18,853
Total number of admissions given out	17,359	15,612
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,050	2,112
Yield rate	23.3%	13.5%
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	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $27,954 Out of state: $36,830	In state: $27,947 Out of state: $31,281
Average net price	$18,947	$19,749
Tuition	In state: $11,774 Out of state: $20,650	In state: $13,334 Out of state: $16,668
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,417 Meal plan: $5,666	$10,884
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan Other alternative tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	91.0% Average amount $8,401	95.0% Average amount $6,352
Students receiving federal student loan	56.0% Average amount $5,405	49.0% Average amount $5,188
Students taking out private loans	10.0% Average amount $13,210	10.0% Average amount $15,132

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	21,133 Men 37.7% Women 62.3%	14,587 Men 50.1% Women 49.9%
Graduate students	5,464 Men 33.3% Women 66.7%	3,679 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	19.7%	23.8%
International students	5.2%	7.3%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	5,674	5,130
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Ohio Pennsylvania New York Illinois Michigan	Michigan Illinois Indiana Wisconsin Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Business Visual & Performing Arts Communication and Journalism	Health Professions Education Engineering Business Multidisciplinary Studies
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	67.7%	56.3%
Dropout rate	9.4%	14.6%
Transferred out	21.3%	25.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $87,715 Year 2: $89,685 Year 3: $100,554 Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $75,015 Year 2: $72,734 Year 3: $77,710 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $64,597 Year 2: $73,635 Year 3: $77,296 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,552 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $75,264 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,262 Year 2: $53,358 Year 3: $66,878 Computer Systems Analysis (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,914 Year 2: $53,358 Year 3: $65,790 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,436 Year 2: $57,619 Year 3: $65,215 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $55,674 Year 2: $53,108 Year 3: $65,118 Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,124 Year 2: $49,019 Year 3: $63,596 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,648 Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $63,476	Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $102,212 Year 2: $103,274 Year 3: $105,179 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $77,392 Year 2: $73,801 Year 3: $88,332 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $84,653 Year 3: $87,977 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,143 Year 2: $65,945 Year 3: $79,982 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $69,346 Year 2: $70,456 Year 3: $77,922 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,069 Year 2: $73,562 Year 3: $77,263 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,557 Year 2: $70,776 Year 3: $75,447 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,559 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $73,968 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,118 Year 2: $63,749 Year 3: $72,465 Engineering-Related Fields (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,803 Year 2: $59,576 Year 3: $69,288

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.

Kent State

California State University-Fullerton