Northern Kentucky University (NKU) vs Michigan State University (MSU)

Northern Kentucky University (NKU) and Michigan State University (MSU) are two distinct institutions of higher learning that offer unique educational experiences. NKU, a public university located in Highland Heights, Kentucky, boasts an acceptance rate of 88%, making it a more accessible option for students. MSU, a public research university situated in East Lansing, Michigan, has a more selective admissions process, with an acceptance rate of 70%. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors at NKU including Business Administration, Nursing, and Education, while MSU excels in fields such as Engineering, Computer Science, and Social Sciences. NKU's student body is predominantly composed of undergraduates, while MSU has a larger graduate student population. Additionally, NKU has a higher graduation rate of 58% compared to MSU's 79%. 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

	Michigan State University	Northern Kentucky University
Overview
Location	East Lansing, Michigan	Highland Heights, Kentucky
Campus setting	City: Small	Suburb: Large
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	92.0%	70.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	83.3%	80.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $40
SAT range	1100 - 1320	983 - 1210
ACT range	23 - 29	20 - 26
Students submitting SAT score	48.0%	7.0%
Students submitting ACT score	16.0%	84.0%
Total number of applicants	50,630	6,637
Total number of admissions given out	42,150	5,329
Admitted students who chose to enroll	9,225	1,690
Yield rate	21.9%	31.7%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $29,734 Out of state: $55,546	In state: $28,010 Out of state: $38,066
Average net price	$8,738	$7,443
Tuition	In state: $14,750 Out of state: $40,562	In state: $10,008 Out of state: $20,064
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,408 Meal plan: $6,268	$11,454
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	58.0% Average amount $12,822	99.0% Average amount $10,343
Students receiving federal student loan	34.0% Average amount $4,999	43.0% Average amount $4,988
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $18,093	3.0% Average amount $10,090

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	38,574 Men 48.4% Women 51.6%	10,814 Men 39.8% Women 60.2%
Graduate students	11,085 Men 42.4% Women 57.6%	5,165 Men 25.9% Women 74.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	18.7%	N/A
International students	8.3%	2.0%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	17,463	1,376
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Michigan Illinois California Ohio New York	Ohio Indiana Florida Maryland

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences Communication and Journalism Health Professions Engineering	Health Professions Business Education Public Administration and Social Service Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	82.1%	47.8%
Dropout rate	7.8%	49.3%
Transferred out	9.8%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $126,500 Year 2: $123,886 Year 3: $132,790 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,863 Year 2: $98,481 Year 3: $108,546 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,313 Year 2: $89,435 Year 3: $101,511 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,361 Year 2: $96,183 Year 3: $100,492 Educational Administration and Supervision (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $101,072 Year 3: $97,714 Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $79,294 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $93,263 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $84,609 Year 2: $83,915 Year 3: $92,316 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $83,457 Year 2: $86,129 Year 3: $91,721 Food Science and Technology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $81,178 Year 2: $83,915 Year 3: $89,761 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $75,462 Year 2: $80,133 Year 3: $84,869	Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $98,497 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,665 Year 2: $90,245 Year 3: $95,400 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,690 Year 2: $101,406 Year 3: $91,600 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,069 Year 2: $81,333 Year 3: $79,768 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,058 Year 2: $67,420 Year 3: $74,689 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,266 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $72,692 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,922 Year 2: $59,071 Year 3: $66,724 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $62,135 Year 2: $59,534 Year 3: $65,990 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,914 Year 2: $56,867 Year 3: $62,291 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $41,900 Year 2: $50,856 Year 3: $61,904

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Northern Kentucky University (NKU) vs Michigan State University (MSU)

Michigan State University

Northern Kentucky University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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