Messiah University vs Ouachita Baptist University

Messiah University and Ouachita Baptist University, both rooted in strong Christian values, offer distinct educational experiences. Messiah, located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, boasts a higher acceptance rate (78%) compared to Ouachita's 68% in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Messiah's student body is more diverse, with international students comprising 3% of the population, while Ouachita's international student population is 1%. Both universities offer a range of popular majors, including Business, Education, and Nursing, but Messiah has a higher graduation rate (73%) than Ouachita (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.

	Messiah University	Ouachita Baptist University
Overview
Location	Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania	Arkadelphia, Arkansas
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Distant
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	85.0%	84.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation	Interdenominational	Baptist

Admission
Acceptance rate	77.4%	73.8%
Application fees	$50	$40
SAT range	1100 - 1340	N/A
ACT range	23 - 31	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	57.0%
Students submitting ACT score	11.0%
Total number of applicants	2,458	2,610
Total number of admissions given out	1,902	1,925
Admitted students who chose to enroll	551	485
Yield rate	29.0%	25.2%
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	$54,340	$44,910
Average net price	$23,895	$20,074
Tuition	$37,430	$29,480
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,970 Meal plan: $5,250	Room/dormitory: $4,370 Meal plan: $4,140
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $26,620	100.0% Average amount $21,394
Students receiving federal student loan	65.0% Average amount $5,510	70.0% Average amount $5,357
Students taking out private loans	24.0% Average amount $11,228	8.0% Average amount $13,978

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,495 Men 39.0% Women 61.0%	1,716 Men 43.5% Women 56.5%
Graduate students	781 Men 28.6% Women 71.4%	48 Men 2.1% Women 97.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	34.6%	38.8%
International students	2.8%	1.9%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	2,403	1,602
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Pennsylvania Maryland New Jersey New York Delaware	Arkansas Texas Louisiana Oklahoma Tennessee

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Business Visual & Performing Arts Engineering	Business Education Health Professions Visual & Performing Arts Philosophy and Religious Studies
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	77.0%	66.8%
Dropout rate	4.8%	33.0%
Transferred out	18.3%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,579 Year 2: $44,776 Year 3: $51,108 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,699 Year 2: $36,726 Year 3: $42,665 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,047 Year 2: $37,748 Year 3: $38,112 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,498 Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: $37,714 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,967 Year 3: $31,315 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $27,439 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $23,351 Year 3: N/A Religion/Religious Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,508 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,174 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: N/A

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Messiah University vs Ouachita Baptist University

Messiah University

Ouachita Baptist University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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