Northwestern State vs McNeese State

Northwestern State University of Louisiana and McNeese State University, both esteemed institutions in Louisiana, offer unique educational experiences. Northwestern boasts a higher acceptance rate (86%) compared to McNeese's 79%, making it slightly easier to gain admission. McNeese, however, has a higher graduation rate (54%) than Northwestern's 49%. When it comes to student demographics, Northwestern has a larger student body with a more diverse ethnic makeup, while McNeese has a smaller student body with a higher percentage of female students. Both universities offer a wide range of popular majors, including Business, Education, and Nursing, but McNeese additionally offers Engineering and Computer Science programs. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions between these two universities and make an informed decision about which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	McNeese State University	Northwestern State University of Louisiana
Overview
Location	Lake Charles, Louisiana	Natchitoches, Louisiana
Campus setting	City: Small	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	69.0%	64.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	68.8%	96.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $20	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $25
SAT range	990 - 1170	920 - 1120
ACT range	20 - 24	16 - 22
Students submitting SAT score	9.0%	3.0%
Students submitting ACT score	92.0%	88.0%
Total number of applicants	2,599	3,738
Total number of admissions given out	1,787	3,599
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,020	1,299
Yield rate	57.1%	36.1%
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	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $24,802 Out of state: $32,840	In state: $25,094 Out of state: $35,882
Average net price	$10,487	$13,500
Tuition	In state: $5,147 Out of state: $13,185	In state: $5,180 Out of state: $15,968
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,526 Meal plan: $3,818	Room/dormitory: $5,964 Meal plan: $4,100
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	94.0% Average amount $10,030	93.0% Average amount $9,347
Students receiving federal student loan	30.0% Average amount $4,643	65.0% Average amount $4,878
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $9,603	4.0% Average amount $10,829

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	5,893 Men 38.6% Women 61.4%	9,622 Men 29.0% Women 71.0%
Graduate students	561 Men 25.0% Women 75.0%	1,113 Men 19.1% Women 80.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	6.3%	1.3%
International students	5.2%	1.5%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	1,037	1,492
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Louisiana Texas California Mississippi Indiana	Louisiana Texas California Colorado Mississippi

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Liberal Arts Engineering Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Health Professions Liberal Arts Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	19:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	42.2%	44.1%
Dropout rate	23.6%	52.7%
Transferred out	30.0%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,390 Year 2: $96,345 Year 3: $105,678 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,056 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $76,973 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,639 Year 2: $58,104 Year 3: $60,913 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,618 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $60,301 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $54,252 Year 3: $58,599 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $47,302 Year 2: $48,139 Year 3: $47,981 Psychology, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $47,245 Year 2: $44,835 Year 3: $46,186 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $46,673 Year 3: $44,792 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $40,269 Year 2: $43,240 Year 3: $44,695 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,474 Year 2: $38,829 Year 3: $42,799	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,397 Year 2: $91,152 Year 3: $97,402 Information Science/Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,057 Year 2: $59,350 Year 3: $74,454 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,885 Year 2: $63,326 Year 3: $66,285 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,023 Year 2: $45,696 Year 3: $60,510 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $63,860 Year 2: $60,226 Year 3: $58,469 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,493 Year 2: $43,957 Year 3: $53,304 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $32,570 Year 2: $44,170 Year 3: $51,224 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $45,699 Year 2: $48,432 Year 3: $49,876 English Language and Literature, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $35,535 Year 2: $45,277 Year 3: $45,495 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $41,907 Year 2: $43,277 Year 3: $44,409

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