New Mexico State University-Main Campus (NMSU) vs Iowa State

New Mexico State University-Main Campus and Iowa State University, both public research universities, offer distinct educational experiences. New Mexico State, located in Las Cruces, New Mexico, has a higher acceptance rate (86%) compared to Iowa State's 83%. Iowa State, situated in Ames, Iowa, boasts a larger student body, with over 30,000 undergraduates compared to New Mexico State's 14,000. While New Mexico State excels in engineering, education, and nursing, Iowa State is renowned for its programs in agriculture, engineering, and veterinary medicine. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve into further details, including graduation rates, student demographics, and popular majors, to determine which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Iowa State University	New Mexico State University-Main Campus
Overview
Location	Ames, Iowa	Las Cruces, New Mexico
Campus setting	City: Small	Suburb: Midsize
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	88.0%	72.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	91.1%	57.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $60	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $40
SAT range	1083 - 1330	920 - 1140
ACT range	21 - 28	17 - 23
Students submitting SAT score	13.0%	36.0%
Students submitting ACT score	63.0%	33.0%
Total number of applicants	20,357	12,535
Total number of admissions given out	18,550	7,177
Admitted students who chose to enroll	5,387	2,013
Yield rate	29.0%	28.0%
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: $22,152 Out of state: $37,964	In state: $22,010 Out of state: $38,476
Average net price	$15,422	$11,397
Tuition	In state: $8,324 Out of state: $24,136	In state: $6,041 Out of state: $22,507
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,590 Meal plan: $4,498	Room/dormitory: $6,507 Meal plan: $4,900
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	87.0% Average amount $8,833	98.0% Average amount $11,518
Students receiving federal student loan	47.0% Average amount $5,202	30.0% Average amount $3,491
Students taking out private loans	11.0% Average amount $11,630	2.0% Average amount $10,115

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	25,808 Men 56.1% Women 43.9%	11,231 Men 41.9% Women 58.1%
Graduate students	4,900 Men 50.6% Women 49.4%	2,673 Men 38.9% Women 61.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	29.0%
International students	8.2%	5.1%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Suburb: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	9,400	3,384
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	New Mexico Texas Arizona California Colorado

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Agriculture Education Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Business Engineering Health Professions Education Agriculture
Students to faculty ratio	18:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	76.0%	50.4%
Dropout rate	6.1%	45.8%
Transferred out	16.7%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $85,739 Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $101,292 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $80,956 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $95,081 Industrial Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,120 Year 2: $89,059 Year 3: $92,521 Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $77,573 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $85,108 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,299 Year 2: $73,321 Year 3: $83,452 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,598 Year 2: $73,839 Year 3: $83,292 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,184 Year 2: $71,734 Year 3: $81,196 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $83,223 Year 2: $70,680 Year 3: $79,916 Construction Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,580 Year 2: $70,083 Year 3: $77,479 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,534 Year 2: $67,156 Year 3: $76,113	Industrial Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $79,572 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $90,002 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,582 Year 2: $61,814 Year 3: $80,221 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: $79,616 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,000 Year 2: $73,635 Year 3: $74,617 Engineering Technology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,548 Year 2: $59,253 Year 3: $71,978 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,906 Year 2: $62,343 Year 3: $70,303 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,738 Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $69,035 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,124 Year 2: $55,512 Year 3: $66,230 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $59,682 Year 2: $63,997 Year 3: $64,455 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,638 Year 2: $57,860 Year 3: $63,843

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