NorthWestern vs The Pennsylvania State University (PSU)

Northwestern University and The Pennsylvania State University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Northwestern, a private research university, boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 8.4%, while Penn State, a public research university, is more accessible with an acceptance rate of 54.4%. Northwestern's student body is smaller and more diverse, with a total enrollment of 21,900 students, while Penn State's student body is significantly larger, with over 97,000 students. Both universities offer a wide range of academic programs, with popular majors at Northwestern including Economics, Computer Science, and Political Science, and popular majors at Penn State including Business, Engineering, and Health Professions. With graduation rates of 91% and 84% respectively, both universities ensure that their students are well-prepared for successful careers. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and find the university that best

	Northwestern University	The Pennsylvania State University
Overview
Location	Evanston, Illinois	University Park, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	99.0%	87.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	7.0%	92.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $95	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	1470 - 1570	1140 - 1360
ACT range	34 - 35	25 - 31
Students submitting SAT score	43.0%	32.0%
Students submitting ACT score	39.0%	6.0%
Total number of applicants	47,636	96,686
Total number of admissions given out	3,321	89,207
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,086	16,049
Yield rate	62.8%	18.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$83,838	In state: $38,270 Out of state: $55,848
Average net price	$29,999	$24,012
Tuition	$60,276	In state: $18,368 Out of state: $35,946
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $11,271 Meal plan: $6,993	Room/dormitory: $7,360 Meal plan: $5,618
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	57.0% Average amount $51,087	51.0% Average amount $9,884
Students receiving federal student loan	23.0% Average amount $4,625	49.0% Average amount $5,305
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $38,595	13.0% Average amount $19,837

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,847 Men 46.1% Women 53.9%	73,476 Men 53.7% Women 46.3%
Graduate students	14,562 Men 47.3% Women 52.7%	15,438 Men 51.7% Women 48.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	34.1%
International students	17.8%	10.5%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	4,409	20,547
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Pennsylvania New Jersey New York Maryland Virginia

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Communication and Journalism Engineering Health Professions Legal Profession	Business Engineering Computer and Information Science Health Professions Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	6:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	95.2%	72.3%
Dropout rate	4.2%	25.7%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $150,242 Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $221,242 Business/Commerce, General (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $216,176 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $187,194 Year 2: $170,971 Year 3: $206,288 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $120,709 Year 2: $189,565 Year 3: $194,961 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $162,478 Year 2: $163,561 Year 3: $177,652 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $111,200 Year 2: $157,779 Year 3: $159,304 Engineering, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $140,321 Year 2: $141,586 Year 3: $154,556 Medical Illustration and Informatics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $88,288 Year 2: $118,465 Year 3: $132,325 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $118,780 Year 2: $111,323 Year 3: $130,124 Community Organization and Advocacy (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $115,760 Year 2: $113,668 Year 3: $128,046	Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $109,295 Year 2: $120,549 Year 3: $125,527 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,798 Year 2: $95,930 Year 3: $120,289 Computer Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,190 Year 2: $97,959 Year 3: $113,544 Mining and Mineral Engineering (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $98,403 Year 3: $108,754 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,372 Year 2: $100,455 Year 3: $107,874 Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,574 Year 2: $99,291 Year 3: $104,370 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,304 Year 2: $97,855 Year 3: $104,056 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,512 Year 2: $94,864 Year 3: $103,461 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $92,632 Year 3: $98,201 Nuclear Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $89,155 Year 3: $94,780

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