Merrimack vs Franklin Pierce University

Merrimack College and Franklin Pierce University, both located in New Hampshire, offer distinct educational experiences for prospective students. Merrimack College, a private Catholic institution, boasts a higher acceptance rate (75%) compared to Franklin Pierce University's 68%. Merrimack's student body is more diverse, with a larger international student population and a higher percentage of female students. In terms of academics, Merrimack offers a wider range of undergraduate programs, including popular majors like Business Administration, Nursing, and Psychology. Franklin Pierce University, on the other hand, excels in programs such as Criminal Justice, Education, and Sports Management. Both institutions offer competitive graduation rates, with Merrimack's rate slightly higher at 83% compared to Franklin Pierce's 80%. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table below, highlighting key differences between these two esteemed institutions.

	Franklin Pierce University	Merrimack College
Overview
Location	Rindge, New Hampshire	North Andover, Massachusetts
Campus setting	Rural: Fringe	Suburb: 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	73.0%	84.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.5%	80.3%
Application fees
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	3,305	10,429
Total number of admissions given out	2,926	8,375
Admitted students who chose to enroll	271	967
Yield rate	9.3%	11.5%
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)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$61,400	$64,774
Average net price	$27,882	$35,500
Tuition	$38,100	$43,842
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,680 Meal plan: $6,210	Room/dormitory: $9,493 Meal plan: $7,323
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $30,752	99.0% Average amount $25,528
Students receiving federal student loan	78.0% Average amount $5,171	64.0% Average amount $5,356
Students taking out private loans	21.0% Average amount $15,349	16.0% Average amount $22,739

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,279 Men 46.8% Women 53.2%	4,120 Men 46.6% Women 53.4%
Graduate students	498 Men 39.6% Women 60.4%	1,332 Men 27.3% Women 72.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	4.0%	1.9%
Campus local/setting	Rural: Fringe	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,205	2,713
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Law Enforcement and Firefighting Communication and Journalism	Education Business Health Professions Engineering Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	41.5%	69.0%
Dropout rate	58.2%	0.1%
Transferred out	N/A	30.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,898 Year 2: $100,026 Year 3: $114,637 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $57,222 Year 2: $64,990 Year 3: $83,974 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,031 Year 2: $75,921 Year 3: $83,930 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $69,292 Year 2: $69,462 Year 3: $75,152 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,420 Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $59,619 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,102 Year 2: $41,286 Year 3: $54,612 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,669 Year 2: $40,467 Year 3: $42,830 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,746 Year 2: $34,526 Year 3: $42,335 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,164 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $40,318 Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,218 Year 2: $25,967 Year 3: $34,835	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,692 Year 2: $44,327 Year 3: $57,831 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,877 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $48,983 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $45,240 Year 2: $43,160 Year 3: $48,263 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,959 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $47,824 Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,026 Year 2: $28,816 Year 3: $44,114 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $70,044 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: N/A Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,117 Year 2: $62,508 Year 3: N/A Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $38,444 Year 2: $36,312 Year 3: N/A Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,991 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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.

Franklin Pierce University

University of Maine