NSU-Aberdeen vs BYU–Provo

Northern State University and Brigham Young University, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Northern State, a public university in Aberdeen, South Dakota, boasts an acceptance rate of 98%, making it a more accessible option for prospective students. Brigham Young, a private university in Provo, Utah, affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has a lower acceptance rate of 50%, indicating a more selective admissions process. While both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, Northern State is known for its strong programs in education, nursing, and business, while Brigham Young excels in engineering, business, and life sciences. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further distinctions between these two universities, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your decision in choosing the best fit for your academic and personal aspirations.

	Brigham Young University	Northern State University
Overview
Location	Provo, Utah	Aberdeen, South Dakota
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Town: Remote
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	89.0%	68.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation	Mormon

Admission
Acceptance rate	59.2%	79.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $35 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $35
SAT range	1220 - 1440	1020 - 1190
ACT range	26 - 32	18 - 24
Students submitting SAT score	20.0%	5.0%
Students submitting ACT score	76.0%	80.0%
Total number of applicants	11,608	1,229
Total number of admissions given out	6,870	981
Admitted students who chose to enroll	5,413	337
Yield rate	78.8%	34.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$20,146	In state: $23,495 Out of state: $26,597
Average net price	$13,432	$16,821
Tuition	$6,120	In state: $7,616 Out of state: $10,718
Room & board	$8,048	Room/dormitory: $4,800 Meal plan: $4,350
Available payment plans		Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	48.0% Average amount $5,867	89.0% Average amount $5,662
Students receiving federal student loan	10.0% Average amount $5,278	65.0% Average amount $4,850
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $9,371	10.0% Average amount $9,043

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	31,642 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%	2,867 Men 40.6% Women 59.4%
Graduate students	3,169 Men 54.4% Women 45.6%	473 Men 26.6% Women 73.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	38.9%
International students	3.6%	2.1%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	7,073	853
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	South Dakota Minnesota North Dakota Iowa Wisconsin

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Engineering Education Health Professions Computer and Information Science	Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Business Liberal Arts
Students to faculty ratio	21:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	76.8%	47.6%
Dropout rate	15.6%	25.4%
Transferred out	N/A	22.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $122,288 Year 2: $119,642 Year 3: $131,537 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,326 Year 2: $87,604 Year 3: $103,770 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,071 Year 2: $86,498 Year 3: $103,443 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $82,667 Year 2: $83,848 Year 3: $99,723 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $83,177 Year 3: $95,117 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $82,340 Year 2: $83,177 Year 3: $93,220 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,754 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $88,329 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,199 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $86,347 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $72,287 Year 2: $75,989 Year 3: $85,287 Business/Managerial Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,484 Year 2: $70,456 Year 3: $83,356	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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Overview

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Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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