Liberty University vs Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU)

Liberty University and Point Loma Nazarene University, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Liberty University, located in Lynchburg, Virginia, is a private Christian university with a large student body and a strong emphasis on faith-based education. Point Loma Nazarene University, situated in San Diego, California, is a private Christian university with a smaller student body and a focus on liberal arts and sciences. While both universities share a commitment to providing quality education, 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 aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Liberty University	Point Loma Nazarene University
Overview
Location	Lynchburg, Virginia	San Diego, California
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	79.0%	84.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Evangelical	Evangelical

Admission
Acceptance rate	99.3%	83.7%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $55 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	1170 - 1350
ACT range	N/A	22 - 30
Students submitting SAT score		15.0%
Students submitting ACT score		10.0%
Total number of applicants	28,448	3,060
Total number of admissions given out	28,244	2,560
Admitted students who chose to enroll	5,461	662
Yield rate	19.3%	25.9%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$42,620	$62,642
Average net price	$27,891	$34,851
Tuition	$21,663	$38,800
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,150 Meal plan: $4,560	$11,300
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	89.0% Average amount $12,431	100.0% Average amount $18,365
Students receiving federal student loan	52.0% Average amount $5,619	45.0% Average amount $5,325
Students taking out private loans	9.0% Average amount $17,351	6.0% Average amount $22,040

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	47,696 Men 43.0% Women 57.0%	3,174 Men 34.3% Women 65.7%
Graduate students	47,013 Men 38.7% Women 61.3%	1,271 Men 29.2% Women 70.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	76.0%	26.3%
International students	0.7%	1.1%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	8,222	1,845
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Virginia North Carolina Pennsylvania Texas Florida	California Washington Colorado Arizona Hawaii

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Health Professions Psychology Theology	Business Health Professions Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	62.1%	72.7%
Dropout rate	30.2%	3.8%
Transferred out	5.6%	22.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Intelligence, Command Control and Information Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $84,316 Year 2: $62,012 Year 3: $91,964 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $80,385 Year 2: $80,964 Year 3: $87,831 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,657 Year 2: $68,219 Year 3: $77,205 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,410 Year 2: $72,022 Year 3: $73,900 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,556 Year 2: $51,106 Year 3: $65,313 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,731 Year 2: $62,936 Year 3: $64,580 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,576 Year 2: $57,705 Year 3: $62,807 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $60,423 Year 2: $57,714 Year 3: $62,225 Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $40,885 Year 2: $56,415 Year 3: $62,169 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $58,240 Year 2: $59,895 Year 3: $61,052	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $105,619 Year 2: $118,210 Year 3: $128,990 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $85,406 Year 2: $85,206 Year 3: $89,492 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,310 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $80,351 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $66,821 Year 3: $76,001 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $63,749 Year 3: $74,448 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,649 Year 2: $61,681 Year 3: $59,139 Business/Corporate Communications (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,198 Year 2: $40,402 Year 3: $43,339 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,184 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $43,147 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,147 Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: $41,978 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,647 Year 2: $30,228 Year 3: $35,103

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Liberty University vs Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU)

Liberty University

Point Loma Nazarene University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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