Northwestern State vs Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU)

Northwestern State University of Louisiana and Mississippi Valley State University, both public institutions with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Northwestern State, located in Natchitoches, Louisiana, boasts a higher acceptance rate (86%) compared to Mississippi Valley State's 69% in Itta Bena, Mississippi. While both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, Northwestern State excels in fields like Business, Education, and Nursing, while Mississippi Valley State is known for its strong Agricultural Sciences and Engineering programs. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about the differences in student demographics, graduation rates, and other key factors that can help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Mississippi Valley State University	Northwestern State University of Louisiana
Overview
Location	Itta Bena, Mississippi	Natchitoches, Louisiana
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	59.0%	64.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	78.6%	96.3%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $25
SAT range	N/A	920 - 1120
ACT range	14 - 18	16 - 22
Students submitting SAT score		3.0%
Students submitting ACT score	74.0%	88.0%
Total number of applicants	3,155	3,738
Total number of admissions given out	2,480	3,599
Admitted students who chose to enroll	199	1,299
Yield rate	8.0%	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	$22,070	In state: $25,094 Out of state: $35,882
Average net price	$10,320	$13,500
Tuition	$7,048	In state: $5,180 Out of state: $15,968
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,386 Meal plan: $3,612	Room/dormitory: $5,964 Meal plan: $4,100
Available payment plans		Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $9,995	93.0% Average amount $9,347
Students receiving federal student loan	72.0% Average amount $5,764	65.0% Average amount $4,878
Students taking out private loans	9.0% Average amount $7,608	4.0% Average amount $10,829

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,714 Men 42.2% Women 57.8%	9,622 Men 29.0% Women 71.0%
Graduate students	350 Men 32.6% Women 67.4%	1,113 Men 19.1% Women 80.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	1.3%
International students	N/A	1.5%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	944	1,492
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Louisiana Texas California Colorado Mississippi

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Public Administration and Social Service Liberal Arts	Health Professions Liberal Arts Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	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	27.1%	44.1%
Dropout rate	71.5%	52.7%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $38,586 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $30,211 Year 2: $33,007 Year 3: $32,318 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $31,600 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,850 Year 3: $27,434 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,019 Year 3: $26,830 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,192 Year 3: $25,417 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $19,592 Year 3: $24,101 Social Work (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $17,334 Year 3: $19,675 Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $24,421 Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A	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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