New Mexico State University-Main Campus (NMSU) vs South Dakota State University (SDSU)

New Mexico State University-Main Campus and South Dakota State University, both public research universities, offer distinct educational experiences. NMSU-Main boasts a higher acceptance rate (88%) compared to SDSU's 83%, making it a more accessible option. NMSU-Main's student body is more diverse, with a larger Hispanic population (43%) than SDSU's (5%). While SDSU has a slightly higher graduation rate (63% vs. 59%), NMSU-Main offers a wider range of undergraduate programs, including popular majors like engineering, nursing, and business. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic goals and preferences.

	New Mexico State University-Main Campus	South Dakota State University
Overview
Location	Las Cruces, New Mexico	Brookings, South Dakota
Campus setting	Suburb: Midsize	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	72.0%	80.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	57.3%	87.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $40	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $35
SAT range	920 - 1140	980 - 1220
ACT range	17 - 23	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score	36.0%	3.0%
Students submitting ACT score	33.0%	86.0%
Total number of applicants	12,535	5,774
Total number of admissions given out	7,177	5,048
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,013	2,019
Yield rate	28.0%	40.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $22,010 Out of state: $38,476	In state: $24,304 Out of state: $27,814
Average net price	$11,397	$17,859
Tuition	In state: $6,041 Out of state: $22,507	In state: $7,773 Out of state: $11,283
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,507 Meal plan: $4,900	Room/dormitory: $4,054 Meal plan: $4,082
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $11,518	81.0% Average amount $4,747
Students receiving federal student loan	30.0% Average amount $3,491	60.0% Average amount $5,063
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $10,115	17.0% Average amount $9,956

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	11,231 Men 41.9% Women 58.1%	9,847 Men 45.2% Women 54.8%
Graduate students	2,673 Men 38.9% Women 61.1%	1,618 Men 37.3% Women 62.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	29.0%	N/A
International students	5.1%	5.1%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Midsize	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	3,384	4,488
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New Mexico Texas Arizona California Colorado	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Engineering Health Professions Education Agriculture	Health Professions Engineering Family and Consumer Sciences Education Agriculture
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	50.4%	59.5%
Dropout rate	45.8%	38.9%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $110,688 Year 2: $117,014 Year 3: $126,250 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $92,277 Year 3: $114,802 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,967 Year 2: $74,845 Year 3: $81,032 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,229 Year 2: $61,322 Year 3: $70,114 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,268 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $62,932 Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,985 Year 2: $56,234 Year 3: $61,104 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,372 Year 2: $57,860 Year 3: $60,463 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,551 Year 2: $56,776 Year 3: $59,988 Plant Sciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,213 Year 2: $55,151 Year 3: $55,715 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $54,439

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.