NSU-Aberdeen vs South Dakota State University (SDSU)

Northern State University and South Dakota State University, both esteemed institutions in South Dakota, offer distinct educational experiences. Northern, nestled in the vibrant city of Aberdeen, boasts a tight-knit community with a focus on personalized attention, while South Dakota State, located in the bustling college town of Brookings, prides itself on its research-intensive environment and extensive academic offerings. With Northern's acceptance rate hovering around 85% and South Dakota State's at 88%, both universities welcome a diverse student body. While Northern's student population leans slightly female, South Dakota State maintains a more balanced gender ratio. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details, including popular majors, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your higher education journey.

	Northern State University	South Dakota State University
Overview
Location	Aberdeen, South Dakota	Brookings, 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	68.0%	80.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	79.8%	87.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $35	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $35
SAT range	1020 - 1190	980 - 1220
ACT range	18 - 24	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score	5.0%	3.0%
Students submitting ACT score	80.0%	86.0%
Total number of applicants	1,229	5,774
Total number of admissions given out	981	5,048
Admitted students who chose to enroll	337	2,019
Yield rate	34.4%	40.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Required	Required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $23,495 Out of state: $26,597	In state: $24,304 Out of state: $27,814
Average net price	$16,821	$17,859
Tuition	In state: $7,616 Out of state: $10,718	In state: $7,773 Out of state: $11,283
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,800 Meal plan: $4,350	Room/dormitory: $4,054 Meal plan: $4,082
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	89.0% Average amount $5,662	81.0% Average amount $4,747
Students receiving federal student loan	65.0% Average amount $4,850	60.0% Average amount $5,063
Students taking out private loans	10.0% Average amount $9,043	17.0% Average amount $9,956

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,867 Men 40.6% Women 59.4%	9,847 Men 45.2% Women 54.8%
Graduate students	473 Men 26.6% Women 73.4%	1,618 Men 37.3% Women 62.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	38.9%	N/A
International students	2.1%	5.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	853	4,488
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	South Dakota Minnesota North Dakota Iowa Wisconsin	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Business Liberal Arts	Health Professions Engineering Family and Consumer Sciences Education Agriculture
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	47.6%	59.5%
Dropout rate	25.4%	38.9%
Transferred out	22.9%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $110,688 Year 2: $117,014 Year 3: $126,250 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $92,277 Year 3: $114,802 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,967 Year 2: $74,845 Year 3: $81,032 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,229 Year 2: $61,322 Year 3: $70,114 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,268 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $62,932 Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,985 Year 2: $56,234 Year 3: $61,104 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,372 Year 2: $57,860 Year 3: $60,463 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,551 Year 2: $56,776 Year 3: $59,988 Plant Sciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,213 Year 2: $55,151 Year 3: $55,715 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $54,439

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.

NSU-Aberdeen vs South Dakota State University (SDSU)

Northern State University

South Dakota State University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

Compare Similar Colleges

Find Colleges By State

Resources

About