OU-Athens vs Western Michigan University (WMU)

Ohio University-Main Campus and Western Michigan University, both public research universities with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Ohio University, with an acceptance rate of 84%, boasts a diverse student body, while Western Michigan University, with a slightly lower acceptance rate of 79%, has a higher proportion of undergraduate students. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, with popular majors including Business, Engineering, and Health Professions. While Ohio University has a slightly higher graduation rate, Western Michigan University offers a more affordable tuition rate. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Ohio University-Main Campus	Western Michigan University
Overview
Location	Athens, Ohio	Kalamazoo, Michigan
Campus setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
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	81.0%	77.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.6%	82.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1070 - 1290	1000 - 1220
ACT range	22 - 27	21 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	12.0%	37.0%
Students submitting ACT score	49.0%	7.0%
Total number of applicants	21,733	18,853
Total number of admissions given out	19,245	15,612
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,664	2,112
Yield rate	19.0%	13.5%
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: $28,616 Out of state: $38,586	In state: $27,947 Out of state: $31,281
Average net price	$20,496	$19,749
Tuition	In state: $12,840 Out of state: $22,810	In state: $13,334 Out of state: $16,668
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,308 Meal plan: $6,918	$10,884
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan Other alternative tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $8,756	95.0% Average amount $6,352
Students receiving federal student loan	49.0% Average amount $4,890	49.0% Average amount $5,188
Students taking out private loans	8.0% Average amount $10,581	10.0% Average amount $15,132

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	18,399 Men 39.6% Women 60.4%	14,587 Men 50.1% Women 49.9%
Graduate students	6,398 Men 42.2% Women 57.8%	3,679 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	15.7%	23.8%
International students	3.9%	7.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	7,173	5,130
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Ohio Pennsylvania Illinois New York West Virginia	Michigan Illinois Indiana Wisconsin Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Education Communication and Journalism Engineering	Health Professions Education Engineering Business Multidisciplinary Studies
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	66.9%	56.3%
Dropout rate	4.1%	14.6%
Transferred out	27.6%	25.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Engineering, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $94,330 Year 2: $100,690 Year 3: $103,464 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,459 Year 2: $97,959 Year 3: $101,078 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,050 Year 2: $87,051 Year 3: $94,807 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,017 Year 2: $90,283 Year 3: $94,522 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $73,933 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $84,182 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $69,081 Year 2: $70,719 Year 3: $74,325 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,115 Year 2: $67,202 Year 3: $72,469 Osteopathic Medicine/Osteopathy (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $55,332 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $70,864 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,736 Year 2: $68,219 Year 3: $70,825 Air Transportation (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,402 Year 2: $50,465 Year 3: $69,646	Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $102,212 Year 2: $103,274 Year 3: $105,179 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $77,392 Year 2: $73,801 Year 3: $88,332 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $84,653 Year 3: $87,977 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,143 Year 2: $65,945 Year 3: $79,982 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $69,346 Year 2: $70,456 Year 3: $77,922 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,069 Year 2: $73,562 Year 3: $77,263 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,557 Year 2: $70,776 Year 3: $75,447 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,559 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $73,968 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,118 Year 2: $63,749 Year 3: $72,465 Engineering-Related Fields (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,803 Year 2: $59,576 Year 3: $69,288

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