MSU Bulldogs vs Auburn

Mississippi State University and Auburn University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning in the Southeastern United States, offer prospective students a wealth of opportunities. While they share some similarities, there are also key differences that set them apart. Mississippi State, located in Starkville, Mississippi, boasts a higher acceptance rate and a larger student body, while Auburn, situated in Auburn, Alabama, has a slightly higher graduation rate and offers a wider range of undergraduate programs. Both universities excel in various academic disciplines, with Mississippi State renowned for its engineering and agriculture programs and Auburn known for its business, engineering, and veterinary medicine programs. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details and discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Auburn University	Mississippi State University
Overview
Location	Auburn, Alabama	Mississippi State, Mississippi
Campus setting	City: Small	Town: Remote
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	93.0%	81.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	71.2%	76.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $60	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $60
SAT range	N/A	1030 - 1280
ACT range	N/A	21 - 30
Students submitting SAT score		9.0%
Students submitting ACT score		91.0%
Total number of applicants	27,619	17,707
Total number of admissions given out	19,660	13,478
Admitted students who chose to enroll	5,311	3,388
Yield rate	27.0%	25.1%
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: $33,650 Out of state: $53,810	In state: $26,460 Out of state: $42,140
Average net price	$23,873	$16,175
Tuition	In state: $10,080 Out of state: $30,240	In state: $9,110 Out of state: $24,790
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,892 Meal plan: $5,704	Room/dormitory: $6,612 Meal plan: $4,200
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	69.0% Average amount $10,448	97.0% Average amount $12,948
Students receiving federal student loan	27.0% Average amount $5,232	42.0% Average amount $5,388
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $24,894	6.0% Average amount $14,099

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	24,931 Men 50.5% Women 49.5%	18,584 Men 49.6% Women 50.4%
Graduate students	6,595 Men 46.7% Women 53.3%	4,502 Men 45.3% Women 54.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	43.6%	41.2%
International students	7.0%	3.4%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	4,823	5,333
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Alabama Georgia Florida Tennessee Texas	Mississippi Tennessee Alabama Georgia Louisiana

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Education Health Professions Business Agriculture	Engineering Education Business Agriculture Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio	20:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	80.9%	59.7%
Dropout rate	4.4%	38.5%
Transferred out	13.0%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $109,330 Year 2: $119,954 Year 3: $122,981 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $106,330 Year 2: $114,892 Year 3: $119,917 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,962 Year 2: $93,520 Year 3: $96,107 Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $80,045 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $94,852 Architectural Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $72,488 Year 2: $70,456 Year 3: $86,080 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $75,285 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $83,134 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,127 Year 2: $68,778 Year 3: $77,684 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,274 Year 2: $65,753 Year 3: $75,817 Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,558 Year 2: $65,170 Year 3: $75,401 Real Estate Development (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $70,456 Year 3: $74,364	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $75,348 Year 2: $88,527 Year 3: $99,184 Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $84,211 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $90,129 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,757 Year 2: $74,307 Year 3: $82,587 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,632 Year 2: $73,852 Year 3: $79,309 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,768 Year 2: $74,405 Year 3: $78,161 Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,878 Year 2: $69,710 Year 3: $76,651 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,741 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $69,725 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,809 Year 2: $56,776 Year 3: $68,041 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,551 Year 2: $58,334 Year 3: $66,010 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,870 Year 2: $52,733 Year 3: $64,799

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Auburn

University of Alabama at Birmingham