Northern Illinois University (NIU) vs Western Kentucky University (WKU)

Northern Illinois University (NIU) and Western Kentucky University (WKU) are two public universities with distinct characteristics. NIU, located in DeKalb, Illinois, has an acceptance rate of 84%, while WKU, situated in Bowling Green, Kentucky, has an acceptance rate of 88%. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, with popular majors including Business, Education, and Engineering. NIU boasts a diverse student body, with 20% of its students identifying as African American and 15% as Hispanic. WKU's student body is predominantly White, with African American students comprising 10% and Hispanic students making up 5%. NIU has a graduation rate of 58%, while WKU's graduation rate is slightly higher at 60%. To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we have compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into these aspects and more. Explore the table to discover

	Northern Illinois University	Western Kentucky University
Overview
Location	Dekalb, Illinois	Bowling Green, Kentucky
Campus setting	Suburb: Small	City: Small
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	67.0%	73.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	70.4%	98.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $60	Undergraduate: $45 Graduate: $65
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	22,602	7,255
Total number of admissions given out	15,922	7,145
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,285	2,832
Yield rate	14.4%	39.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$27,218	In state: $27,895 Out of state: $43,903
Average net price	$13,265	$12,395
Tuition	$9,606	In state: $10,992 Out of state: $27,000
Room & board	$11,098	Room/dormitory: $6,744 Meal plan: $3,964
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $13,008	98.0% Average amount $9,576
Students receiving federal student loan	58.0% Average amount $5,313	47.0% Average amount $5,128
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $11,726	5.0% Average amount $9,983

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	11,834 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	14,729 Men 37.8% Women 62.2%
Graduate students	4,400 Men 40.8% Women 59.2%	2,021 Men 34.1% Women 65.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	4.6%	1.1%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	4,500	4,942
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Tennessee Indiana Illinois Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Engineering Computer and Information Science	Health Professions Business Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Public Administration and Social Service
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	18:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	50.8%	53.6%
Dropout rate	46.9%	22.1%
Transferred out	N/A	22.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $118,716 Year 2: $98,186 Year 3: $125,726 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,047 Year 2: $88,920 Year 3: $96,563 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,161 Year 2: $91,587 Year 3: $94,214 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,013 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $76,350 Computer Science (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,606 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $75,980 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,752 Year 2: $64,150 Year 3: $74,168 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,234 Year 2: $66,989 Year 3: $74,151 Psychology, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $57,535 Year 2: $68,499 Year 3: $73,940 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $70,453 Year 2: $69,151 Year 3: $72,792 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $63,291 Year 2: $63,685 Year 3: $72,760	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $76,015 Year 2: $86,696 Year 3: $95,431 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $71,960 Year 2: $76,998 Year 3: $77,293 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,199 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $77,197 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,704 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $68,358 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,193 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $66,850 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,992 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $65,815 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,607 Year 2: $61,144 Year 3: $65,553 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,759 Year 2: $51,551 Year 3: $57,443 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $53,729 Year 2: $52,897 Year 3: $56,104 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,172 Year 2: $56,281 Year 3: $55,609

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Northern Illinois University (NIU) vs Western Kentucky University (WKU)

Northern Illinois University

Western Kentucky University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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