Michigan State University (MSU) vs UIdaho

Envision yourself immersed in the vibrant college towns of East Lansing, Michigan, and Moscow, Idaho, home to Michigan State University (MSU) and University of Idaho (U of I), respectively. While both institutions offer a wealth of opportunities, they possess distinct characteristics that may influence your academic journey. MSU boasts a larger student body, a higher acceptance rate, and a more diverse range of undergraduate programs, including highly ranked offerings in engineering, business, and agriculture. U of I, on the other hand, prides itself on its smaller class sizes, lower student-to-faculty ratio, and strengths in forestry, natural resources, and life sciences. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve into further details and discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.
Michigan State University logo

Michigan State University

University of Idaho logo

University of Idaho

Overview

Location East Lansing, Michigan Moscow, Idaho
Campus setting City: Small Town: Distant
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 92.0% 75.0%
Common app member Yes Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission

Acceptance rate 83.3% 81.4%
Application fees
Undergraduate: $65

Graduate: $65
Undergraduate: $60

Graduate: $60
SAT range 1100 - 1320 990 - 1220
ACT range 23 - 29 20 - 28
Students submitting SAT score 48.0% 65.0%
Students submitting ACT score 16.0% 14.0%
Total number of applicants 50,630 9,814
Total number of admissions given out 42,150 7,987
Admitted students who chose to enroll 9,225 1,656
Yield rate 21.9% 20.7%
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: $29,734

Out of state: $55,546
In state: $22,254

Out of state: $41,490
Average net price $8,738 $15,435
Tuition
In state: $14,750

Out of state: $40,562
In state: $6,182

Out of state: $25,418
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $4,408

Meal plan: $6,268
$9,610
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

58.0%
Average amount $12,822
97.0%
Average amount $12,208
Students receiving federal student loan 34.0%
Average amount $4,999
42.0%
Average amount $4,946
Students taking out private loans 6.0%
Average amount $18,093
3.0%
Average amount $12,339

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 38,574
Men 48.4% Women 51.6%
8,631
Men 47.7% Women 52.3%
Graduate students 11,085
Men 42.4% Women 57.6%
2,672
Men 49.6% Women 50.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Low
Very Low
Out-of-state students 18.7% 33.2%
International students 8.3% 4.7%
Campus local/setting City: Small Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity 17,463 2,310
First year students are required to live on campus? No No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from Michigan Illinois California Ohio New York Idaho Washington California Oregon Nevada

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Business
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Communication and Journalism
  • Health Professions
  • Engineering
  • Engineering
  • Education
  • Natural Resources and Conservation
  • Business
  • Architecture
Students to faculty ratio 16:1 16:1
Institutional accreditation Higher Learning Commission Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome

Graduation rate 82.1% 59.2%
Dropout rate 7.8% 17.6%
Transferred out 9.8% 21.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $126,500
  • Year 2: $123,886
  • Year 3: $132,790
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $101,863
  • Year 2: $98,481
  • Year 3: $108,546
Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $90,313
  • Year 2: $89,435
  • Year 3: $101,511
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $92,361
  • Year 2: $96,183
  • Year 3: $100,492
Educational Administration and Supervision (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $101,072
  • Year 3: $97,714
Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $79,294
  • Year 2: N/A
  • Year 3: $93,263
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $84,609
  • Year 2: $83,915
  • Year 3: $92,316
Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees)
  • Year 1: $83,457
  • Year 2: $86,129
  • Year 3: $91,721
Food Science and Technology (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $81,178
  • Year 2: $83,915
  • Year 3: $89,761
Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $75,462
  • Year 2: $80,133
  • Year 3: $84,869
Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $72,891
  • Year 2: $74,576
  • Year 3: $82,601
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $66,060
  • Year 2: $67,101
  • Year 3: $79,227
Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $66,101
  • Year 2: $68,499
  • Year 3: $73,393
Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $60,687
  • Year 2: $59,982
  • Year 3: $72,836
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $53,491
  • Year 2: $50,439
  • Year 3: $66,706
Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $63,504
  • Year 2: $57,860
  • Year 3: $66,017
Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $61,842
  • Year 2: $59,640
  • Year 3: $64,996
Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $52,539
  • Year 2: $57,860
  • Year 3: $62,271
Law (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $52,424
  • Year 2: $53,131
  • Year 3: $60,120
Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $44,933
  • Year 3: $56,902

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.
Michigan State University MSU vs Arizona State University Campus Immersion Arizona State University Campus Immersion
Michigan State University MSU vs University of Arizona University of Arizona
Michigan State University MSU vs University of California-Berkeley University of California-Berkeley
Michigan State University MSU vs University of California-Davis University of California-Davis
Michigan State University MSU vs University of Colorado Boulder University of Colorado Boulder
Michigan State University MSU vs Colorado State University-Fort Collins Colorado State University-Fort Collins
Michigan State University MSU vs University of Delaware University of Delaware
Michigan State University MSU vs Florida State University Florida State University
Michigan State University MSU vs University of Georgia University of Georgia
Michigan State University MSU vs University of Idaho University of Idaho
Michigan State University MSU vs University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Michigan State University MSU vs Northwestern University Northwestern University
Michigan State University MSU vs Iowa State University Iowa State University
Michigan State University MSU vs University of Kansas University of Kansas
Michigan State University MSU vs University of Kentucky University of Kentucky
Michigan State University MSU vs Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University
Michigan State University MSU vs University of Maryland-College Park University of Maryland-College Park
Michigan State University MSU vs Harvard University Harvard University
Michigan State University MSU vs Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Michigan State University MSU vs University of Michigan-Ann Arbor University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Michigan State University MSU vs Dartmouth College Dartmouth College
Michigan State University MSU vs Cornell University Cornell University
Michigan State University MSU vs CUNY City College CUNY City College
Michigan State University MSU vs University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Michigan State University MSU vs North Carolina State University at Raleigh North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Michigan State University MSU vs University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus
Michigan State University MSU vs University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus
Michigan State University MSU vs Brown University Brown University
Michigan State University MSU vs Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University
Michigan State University MSU vs The University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin
Michigan State University MSU vs Texas Tech University Texas Tech University
Michigan State University MSU vs Brigham Young University Brigham Young University
Michigan State University MSU vs George Mason University George Mason University
Michigan State University MSU vs Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Michigan State University MSU vs University of Virginia-Main Campus University of Virginia-Main Campus
Michigan State University MSU vs University of Washington-Seattle Campus University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Michigan State University MSU vs Stanford University Stanford University
Michigan State University MSU vs The Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University
University of Idaho UIdaho vs Auburn University Auburn University
University of Idaho UIdaho vs University of Alaska Fairbanks University of Alaska Fairbanks
University of Idaho UIdaho vs Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University
University of Idaho UIdaho vs University of Arkansas University of Arkansas
University of Idaho UIdaho vs Arkansas State University Arkansas State University
University of Idaho UIdaho vs University of Central Arkansas University of Central Arkansas
University of Idaho UIdaho vs California State University-Chico California State University-Chico
University of Idaho UIdaho vs Idaho State University Idaho State University
University of Idaho UIdaho vs Brigham Young University-Idaho Brigham Young University-Idaho
University of Idaho UIdaho vs University of Louisiana at Lafayette University of Louisiana at Lafayette
University of Idaho UIdaho vs University of Maine University of Maine
University of Idaho UIdaho vs University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth
University of Idaho UIdaho vs The University of Montana The University of Montana
University of Idaho UIdaho vs University of Nebraska at Kearney University of Nebraska at Kearney
University of Idaho UIdaho vs University of Nevada-Reno University of Nevada-Reno
University of Idaho UIdaho vs North Carolina A & T State University North Carolina A & T State University
University of Idaho UIdaho vs University of North Dakota University of North Dakota
University of Idaho UIdaho vs University of South Dakota University of South Dakota
University of Idaho UIdaho vs Sam Houston State University Sam Houston State University
University of Idaho UIdaho vs Texas State University Texas State University
University of Idaho UIdaho vs University of Vermont University of Vermont
University of Idaho UIdaho vs Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University
University of Idaho UIdaho vs Marshall University Marshall University