Marshall University vs Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)

Marshall University and Florida Gulf Coast University, located in Huntington, West Virginia, and Fort Myers, Florida, respectively, offer distinct educational experiences. Marshall, with an acceptance rate of 86%, boasts a larger student body, with over 13,000 undergraduates, while FGCU, with a higher acceptance rate of 93%, has a more intimate undergraduate population of around 10,000. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with Marshall excelling in fields like engineering, nursing, and education, and FGCU specializing in business, health professions, and hospitality management. While Marshall's graduation rate stands at 58%, FGCU's is slightly higher at 62%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these institutions' unique strengths and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Florida Gulf Coast University	Marshall University
Overview
Location	Fort Myers, Florida	Huntington, West Virginia
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	82.0%	71.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	89.2%	97.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $40
SAT range	1010 - 1180	930 - 1150
ACT range	19 - 25	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score	79.0%	56.0%
Students submitting ACT score	45.0%	70.0%
Total number of applicants	14,462	5,602
Total number of admissions given out	12,901	5,479
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,125	1,596
Yield rate	24.2%	29.1%
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	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $20,390 Out of state: $39,434	In state: $22,993 Out of state: $34,047
Average net price	$9,840	$8,730
Tuition	In state: $4,191 Out of state: $22,328	In state: $7,190 Out of state: $18,244
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,820 Meal plan: $4,346	Room/dormitory: $5,724 Meal plan: $4,330
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	78.0% Average amount $6,754	91.0% Average amount $10,973
Students receiving federal student loan	30.0% Average amount $7,251	46.0% Average amount $5,033
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $16,201	4.0% Average amount $10,103

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	14,228 Men 42.9% Women 57.1%	8,008 Men 41.4% Women 58.6%
Graduate students	1,681 Men 29.2% Women 70.8%	3,015 Men 34.4% Women 65.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	17.6%	21.6%
International students	2.1%	1.6%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	4,732	2,339
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	West Virginia Ohio District of Columbia Virginia

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Multidisciplinary Studies Liberal Arts Education Engineering	Health Professions Education Business Liberal Arts Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	22:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	56.2%	52.2%
Dropout rate	26.2%	18.9%
Transferred out	13.4%	26.2%
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 (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $178,140 Year 2: $185,138 Year 3: $194,626 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $110,434 Year 2: $121,632 Year 3: $123,370 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $93,290 Year 2: $87,183 Year 3: $92,283 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $71,586 Year 2: $73,635 Year 3: $78,893 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,929 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $63,850 Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $55,233 Year 2: $57,087 Year 3: $63,436 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $42,991 Year 2: $55,512 Year 3: $59,064 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,473 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $57,835 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $54,506 Year 2: $58,823 Year 3: $57,647 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,675 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $57,619

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