Messiah University vs Harding University

Messiah University and Harding University, both esteemed private Christian universities, offer distinct educational experiences. Messiah, located in Grantham, Pennsylvania, boasts a higher acceptance rate (78%) compared to Harding's 68% in Searcy, Arkansas. Messiah's student body is more diverse, with 38% of students identifying as non-white, while Harding's student body is predominantly white (87%). Both universities offer a range of popular majors, including nursing, business, and education, but Messiah has a higher graduation rate (73%) than Harding (68%). Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Harding University	Messiah University
Overview
Location	Searcy, Arkansas	Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Town: Distant	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%	85.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Churches of Christ	Interdenominational

Admission
Acceptance rate	54.1%	77.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $45	$50
SAT range	1050 - 1300	1100 - 1340
ACT range	20 - 28	23 - 31
Students submitting SAT score	23.0%	57.0%
Students submitting ACT score	80.0%	11.0%
Total number of applicants	2,200	2,458
Total number of admissions given out	1,191	1,902
Admitted students who chose to enroll	748	551
Yield rate	62.8%	29.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$34,538	$54,340
Average net price	$20,533	$23,895
Tuition	$21,690	$37,430
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,068 Meal plan: $4,658	Room/dormitory: $5,970 Meal plan: $5,250
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	97.0% Average amount $12,769	100.0% Average amount $26,620
Students receiving federal student loan	45.0% Average amount $5,607	65.0% Average amount $5,510
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $12,585	24.0% Average amount $11,228

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,684 Men 43.8% Women 56.2%	2,495 Men 39.0% Women 61.0%
Graduate students	1,289 Men 34.0% Women 66.0%	781 Men 28.6% Women 71.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	34.6%
International students	6.2%	2.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,867	2,403
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Pennsylvania Maryland New Jersey New York Delaware

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Business Communication and Journalism Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Health Professions Education Business Visual & Performing Arts Engineering
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	67.2%	77.0%
Dropout rate	31.7%	4.8%
Transferred out	N/A	18.3%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Health/Medical Preparatory Programs (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $117,748 Year 2: $124,539 Year 3: $127,639 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,011 Year 2: $106,978 Year 3: $105,028 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,933 Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $88,179 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $69,415 Year 2: $68,618 Year 3: $71,365 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,335 Year 2: $66,104 Year 3: $69,942 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,533 Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $67,054 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,156 Year 2: $52,733 Year 3: $65,082 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,219 Year 2: $57,047 Year 3: $64,125 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,088 Year 2: $58,221 Year 3: $62,592 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,124 Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $60,778	Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,515 Year 2: $60,623 Year 3: $64,027 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,062 Year 2: $53,608 Year 3: $62,810 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,117 Year 2: $62,546 Year 3: $62,631 Music (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,416 Year 2: $55,693 Year 3: $56,809 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,254 Year 2: $49,214 Year 3: $53,924 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $32,970 Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: $47,853 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,875 Year 2: $37,054 Year 3: $47,113 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,733 Year 2: $40,621 Year 3: $45,156 Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $43,616 Year 2: $39,523 Year 3: $44,488 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,316 Year 2: $35,594 Year 3: $41,855

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