North Central University vs The Pennsylvania State University (PSU)

North Central University and The Pennsylvania State University, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. North Central, a private Christian university, boasts a tight-knit community with a focus on faith-based education, while Penn State, a large public research university, offers a diverse range of academic programs and a vibrant campus life. With acceptance rates of 80% and 54%, respectively, these universities cater to different applicant pools. North Central's student body is predominantly White (69%) and female (60%), while Penn State's student population is more diverse, with a larger proportion of White (73%) and Asian (10%) students and a balanced gender ratio. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details about these universities, including popular majors, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your decision in choosing the best fit for your academic and personal aspirations.

	North Central University	The Pennsylvania State University
Overview
Location	Minneapolis, Minnesota	University Park, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	76.0%	87.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Protestant

Admission
Acceptance rate	94.0%	92.3%
Application fees	$25	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	N/A	1140 - 1360
ACT range	N/A	25 - 31
Students submitting SAT score		32.0%
Students submitting ACT score		6.0%
Total number of applicants	553	96,686
Total number of admissions given out	520	89,207
Admitted students who chose to enroll	188	16,049
Yield rate	36.2%	18.0%
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	$40,855	In state: $38,270 Out of state: $55,848
Average net price	$24,232	$24,012
Tuition	$26,350	In state: $18,368 Out of state: $35,946
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,740 Meal plan: $3,940	Room/dormitory: $7,360 Meal plan: $5,618
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	97.0% Average amount $15,128	51.0% Average amount $9,884
Students receiving federal student loan	65.0% Average amount $5,021	49.0% Average amount $5,305
Students taking out private loans	11.0% Average amount $13,650	13.0% Average amount $19,837

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	950 Men 45.2% Women 54.8%	73,476 Men 53.7% Women 46.3%
Graduate students	84 Men 40.5% Women 59.5%	15,438 Men 51.7% Women 48.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	34.1%
International students	1.6%	10.5%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	913	20,547
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Pennsylvania New Jersey New York Maryland Virginia

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Theology Education Multidisciplinary Studies Public Administration and Social Service	Business Engineering Computer and Information Science Health Professions Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	59.1%	72.3%
Dropout rate	39.1%	25.7%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,272 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $37,763 Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,251 Year 2: $27,552 Year 3: $37,109 Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,543 Year 2: $32,284 Year 3: $36,704 Intercultural/Multicultural and Diversity Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $30,228 Year 3: $26,698 Religious/Sacred Music (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,647 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Social Work (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,565 Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: N/A	Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $109,295 Year 2: $120,549 Year 3: $125,527 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,798 Year 2: $95,930 Year 3: $120,289 Computer Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,190 Year 2: $97,959 Year 3: $113,544 Mining and Mineral Engineering (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $98,403 Year 3: $108,754 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,372 Year 2: $100,455 Year 3: $107,874 Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,574 Year 2: $99,291 Year 3: $104,370 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,304 Year 2: $97,855 Year 3: $104,056 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,512 Year 2: $94,864 Year 3: $103,461 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $92,632 Year 3: $98,201 Nuclear Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $89,155 Year 3: $94,780

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.

North Central University

University of California-Berkeley