Northern Michigan University (NMU) vs NSU-Aberdeen

Northern Michigan University (NMU) and Northern State University (NSU) share a common name but offer distinct educational experiences. NMU, located in Marquette, Michigan, boasts a higher acceptance rate (86%) compared to NSU's 78% in Aberdeen, South Dakota. NMU's student body is more diverse, with international students comprising 2% of the population, while NSU's international student population is 1%. Both universities offer a range of popular majors, including Business, Education, and Nursing, but NMU has a higher graduation rate (58%) than NSU's 48%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Northern Michigan University	Northern State University
Overview
Location	Marquette, Michigan	Aberdeen, South Dakota
Campus setting	Town: Remote	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%	68.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	71.3%	79.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $35 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $35
SAT range	N/A	1020 - 1190
ACT range	N/A	18 - 24
Students submitting SAT score		5.0%
Students submitting ACT score		80.0%
Total number of applicants	6,553	1,229
Total number of admissions given out	4,670	981
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,496	337
Yield rate	32.0%	34.4%
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: $26,076 Out of state: $31,572	In state: $23,495 Out of state: $26,597
Average net price	$17,686	$16,821
Tuition	In state: $12,098 Out of state: $17,594	In state: $7,616 Out of state: $10,718
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,212 Meal plan: $5,700	Room/dormitory: $4,800 Meal plan: $4,350
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $8,291	89.0% Average amount $5,662
Students receiving federal student loan	60.0% Average amount $4,882	65.0% Average amount $4,850
Students taking out private loans	13.0% Average amount $12,023	10.0% Average amount $9,043

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	6,611 Men 41.4% Women 58.6%	2,867 Men 40.6% Women 59.4%
Graduate students	603 Men 31.8% Women 68.2%	473 Men 26.6% Women 73.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	27.5%	38.9%
International students	1.2%	2.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	2,956	853
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Michigan Wisconsin Illinois Minnesota California	South Dakota Minnesota North Dakota Iowa Wisconsin

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Education Visual & Performing Arts Liberal Arts	Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Business Liberal Arts
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	49.4%	47.6%
Dropout rate	48.5%	25.4%
Transferred out	N/A	22.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,628 Year 2: $72,796 Year 3: $79,136 Electrical and Power Transmission Installers (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $46,384 Year 2: $47,846 Year 3: $59,593 Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $56,415 Year 3: $58,726 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,371 Year 2: $56,776 Year 3: $57,709 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $47,668 Year 2: $53,358 Year 3: $55,574 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,975 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: $51,392 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,045 Year 2: $34,793 Year 3: $47,951 Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,424 Year 2: $44,635 Year 3: $46,290 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,823 Year 2: $38,649 Year 3: $45,786 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $43,293 Year 2: $38,529 Year 3: $44,324	Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $49,248 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,021 Year 3: $46,732 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,902 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $46,239 Curriculum and Instruction (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $43,575 Year 3: $45,796 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,996 Year 2: $40,728 Year 3: $45,442 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,033 Year 2: $39,523 Year 3: $39,953 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,526 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $39,845 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,862 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $20,824 Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $38,740 Year 2: $34,526 Year 3: N/A

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