Northwestern State vs University of West Alabama (UWA)

Northwestern State University of Louisiana and University of West Alabama, both public institutions with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Northwestern State, located in Natchitoches, Louisiana, boasts a higher acceptance rate (86%) compared to the University of West Alabama in Livingston, Alabama (79%). While Northwestern State's student body is predominantly female (58%), the University of West Alabama has a more balanced gender ratio. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors including Business, Education, and Nursing. However, Northwestern State excels in Engineering and Computer Science, while the University of West Alabama is known for its strong Liberal Arts and Humanities programs. With different graduation rates (58% at Northwestern State and 43% at the University of West Alabama), these institutions cater to students with varying academic goals and aspirations. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these universities and make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Northwestern State University of Louisiana	University of West Alabama
Overview
Location	Natchitoches, Louisiana	Livingston, Alabama
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Rural: 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	64.0%	63.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	96.3%	74.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $25	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $40
SAT range	920 - 1120	880 - 980
ACT range	16 - 22	17 - 21
Students submitting SAT score	3.0%	2.0%
Students submitting ACT score	88.0%	69.0%
Total number of applicants	3,738	1,539
Total number of admissions given out	3,599	1,144
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,299	351
Yield rate	36.1%	30.7%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not 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: $25,094 Out of state: $35,882	In state: $22,911 Out of state: $32,011
Average net price	$13,500	$15,435
Tuition	In state: $5,180 Out of state: $15,968	In state: $9,100 Out of state: $18,200
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,964 Meal plan: $4,100	Room/dormitory: $4,760 Meal plan: $2,834
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	93.0% Average amount $9,347	89.0% Average amount $7,129
Students receiving federal student loan	65.0% Average amount $4,878	65.0% Average amount $5,418
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $10,829	3.0% Average amount $8,357

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,622 Men 29.0% Women 71.0%	2,322 Men 30.6% Women 69.4%
Graduate students	1,113 Men 19.1% Women 80.9%	3,272 Men 20.0% Women 80.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	1.3%	N/A
International students	1.5%	2.0%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Rural: Remote
Dormitory capacity	1,492	1,019
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Louisiana Texas California Colorado Mississippi	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Liberal Arts Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences Visual & Performing Arts	Education Business Health Professions Multidisciplinary Studies Communication and Journalism
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	14:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	44.1%	39.1%
Dropout rate	52.7%	21.5%
Transferred out	N/A	36.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $57,363 Year 2: $61,681 Year 3: $64,667 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,130 Year 2: $53,942 Year 3: $55,799 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $52,682 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $54,452 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $47,975 Year 2: $48,510 Year 3: $51,622 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,470 Year 2: $46,380 Year 3: $48,647 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $47,701 Year 2: $46,261 Year 3: $47,958 Educational/Instructional Media Design (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,803 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $47,734 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,054 Year 3: $35,960 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,711 Year 3: N/A Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,983 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A

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Northwestern State vs University of West Alabama (UWA)

Northwestern State University of Louisiana

University of West Alabama

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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