Merrimack vs Rider University

Merrimack College and Rider University, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Merrimack, a private Catholic college in North Andover, Massachusetts, boasts a 73% acceptance rate and a student body of over 4,000 undergraduates. Rider, a private university in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, has a slightly higher acceptance rate of 76% and a larger undergraduate population of over 5,000. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with Merrimack excelling in fields like business, engineering, and nursing, while Rider is known for its strengths in business, education, and the arts. To help you make an informed decision about your academic journey, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into the acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates of these two esteemed institutions.

	Merrimack College	Rider University
Overview
Location	North Andover, Massachusetts	Lawrenceville, New Jersey
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	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	84.0%	77.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	80.3%	81.9%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	1050 - 1270
ACT range	N/A	28 - 31
Students submitting SAT score		20.0%
Students submitting ACT score		4.0%
Total number of applicants	10,429	8,791
Total number of admissions given out	8,375	7,204
Admitted students who chose to enroll	967	638
Yield rate	11.5%	8.9%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$64,774	$46,150
Average net price	$35,500	$23,781
Tuition	$43,842	$35,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,493 Meal plan: $7,323	Room/dormitory: $11,020 Meal plan: $5,590
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $25,528	100.0% Average amount $34,727
Students receiving federal student loan	64.0% Average amount $5,356	61.0% Average amount $5,246
Students taking out private loans	16.0% Average amount $22,739	11.0% Average amount $16,651

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	4,120 Men 46.6% Women 53.4%	3,222 Men 42.0% Women 58.0%
Graduate students	1,332 Men 27.3% Women 72.7%	982 Men 33.0% Women 67.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	1.9%	2.8%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,713	2,409
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	Education Business Health Professions Engineering Computer and Information Science	Business Education Psychology Visual & Performing Arts Communication and Journalism
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	69.0%	60.9%
Dropout rate	0.1%	38.6%
Transferred out	30.5%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $87,763 Year 2: $79,473 Year 3: $93,597 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,917 Year 2: $68,834 Year 3: $75,955 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $70,456 Year 3: $72,521 Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $69,567 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $60,193 Year 2: $60,771 Year 3: $67,210 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,945 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $62,232 Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $60,650 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,476 Year 2: $45,752 Year 3: $59,583 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,862 Year 2: $53,894 Year 3: $55,130 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $57,020 Year 2: $50,439 Year 3: $54,983

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Merrimack vs Rider University

Merrimack College

Rider University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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