Northern Kentucky University (NKU) vs University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS)

Northern Kentucky University (NKU) and University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) are two distinct institutions of higher learning with unique characteristics. NKU, located in Highland Heights, Kentucky, offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate programs, while UCCS, situated in Colorado Springs, Colorado, emphasizes undergraduate education and boasts a strong focus on research. With acceptance rates of 88% and 79% respectively, both universities welcome a diverse student body. NKU's student population is predominantly female, while UCCS has a slightly higher proportion of male students. In terms of popular majors, NKU excels in fields such as nursing, business, and education, whereas UCCS is renowned for its programs in engineering, computer science, and psychology. While NKU boasts a higher graduation rate, UCCS offers a more intimate learning environment with smaller class sizes. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Northern Kentucky University	University of Colorado Colorado Springs
Overview
Location	Highland Heights, Kentucky	Colorado Springs, Colorado
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: 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	70.0%	67.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	80.3%	95.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $40	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $60
SAT range	983 - 1210	N/A
ACT range	20 - 26	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	7.0%
Students submitting ACT score	84.0%
Total number of applicants	6,637	11,900
Total number of admissions given out	5,329	11,337
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,690	1,409
Yield rate	31.7%	12.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $28,010 Out of state: $38,066	In state: $26,306 Out of state: $38,762
Average net price	$7,443	$15,547
Tuition	In state: $10,008 Out of state: $20,064	In state: $7,296 Out of state: $19,752
Room & board	$11,454	$11,458
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $10,343	71.0% Average amount $6,940
Students receiving federal student loan	43.0% Average amount $4,988	34.0% Average amount $5,047
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $10,090	7.0% Average amount $15,415

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	10,814 Men 39.8% Women 60.2%	10,002 Men 45.8% Women 54.2%
Graduate students	5,165 Men 25.9% Women 74.1%	2,029 Men 40.0% Women 60.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	22.0%
International students	2.0%	1.3%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,376	1,719
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Ohio Indiana Florida Maryland	Colorado Texas California Illinois Minnesota

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

Outcome
Graduation rate	47.8%	44.1%
Dropout rate	49.3%	16.8%
Transferred out	N/A	35.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,442 Year 2: $92,358 Year 3: $103,568 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,849 Year 2: $67,240 Year 3: $77,111 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,511 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $76,950 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $67,374 Year 2: $71,015 Year 3: $74,444 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,567 Year 2: $56,544 Year 3: $64,874 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,473 Year 2: $59,441 Year 3: $63,152 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $42,437 Year 2: $45,048 Year 3: $53,324 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,674 Year 2: $44,170 Year 3: $49,511 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,542 Year 2: $40,089 Year 3: $48,299 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,745 Year 2: $40,521 Year 3: $47,859

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.