Portland State vs Ball State

Portland State University and Ball State University, both located in vibrant cities, offer distinct educational experiences. Portland State, nestled in the heart of Portland, Oregon, boasts an acceptance rate of 86%, while Ball State, situated in Muncie, Indiana, has a slightly lower acceptance rate of 79%. Portland State's student body is more diverse, with international students comprising 12% of the population compared to Ball State's 3%. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors including Business, Engineering, and Education. However, Portland State excels in fields like Urban Studies and Public Affairs, while Ball State is known for its strong programs in Architecture and Journalism. With graduation rates of 58% and 62% respectively, both institutions provide ample support to help students succeed academically. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Ball State University	Portland State University
Overview
Location	Muncie, Indiana	Portland, Oregon
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Quarter
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	73.0%	76.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	68.2%	98.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $60	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $67
SAT range	1010 - 1210	1000 - 1250
ACT range	20 - 27	17 - 24
Students submitting SAT score	42.0%	9.0%
Students submitting ACT score	13.0%	8.0%
Total number of applicants	22,947	6,859
Total number of admissions given out	15,642	6,751
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,278	1,741
Yield rate	21.0%	25.8%
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)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $25,254 Out of state: $42,488	In state: $28,296 Out of state: $47,196
Average net price	$12,968	$13,015
Tuition	In state: $9,628 Out of state: $26,862	In state: $8,685 Out of state: $27,585
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,862 Meal plan: $6,282	Room/dormitory: $7,179 Meal plan: $4,548
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	86.0% Average amount $11,442	70.0% Average amount $9,424
Students receiving federal student loan	88.0% Average amount $5,451	40.0% Average amount $4,437
Students taking out private loans	11.0% Average amount $13,381	3.0% Average amount $16,901

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	14,898 Men 38.7% Women 61.3%	17,753 Men 43.8% Women 56.2%
Graduate students	5,421 Men 23.0% Women 77.0%	5,105 Men 35.5% Women 64.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	9.4%	20.4%
International students	1.4%	5.0%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	7,531	2,352
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Indiana Illinois Ohio Michigan Florida	Oregon California Washington Hawaii Colorado

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Liberal Arts Psychology	Education Engineering Business Public Administration and Social Service Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	19:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	68.0%	53.8%
Dropout rate	11.4%	18.3%
Transferred out	20.1%	23.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,451 Year 2: $92,124 Year 3: $94,146 Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $69,551 Year 2: $75,989 Year 3: $81,236 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,545 Year 2: $63,997 Year 3: $77,057 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $75,885 Year 2: $65,610 Year 3: $75,003 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,368 Year 2: $53,108 Year 3: $65,967 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,067 Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $64,046 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,195 Year 2: $54,296 Year 3: $63,441 Business/Commerce, General (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $57,995 Year 3: $62,410 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,157 Year 2: $56,776 Year 3: $60,714 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,299 Year 2: $52,357 Year 3: $59,898	Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,974 Year 2: $95,073 Year 3: $103,264 Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,050 Year 2: $78,971 Year 3: $95,745 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $84,403 Year 2: $86,867 Year 3: $95,669 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,452 Year 2: $80,186 Year 3: $93,529 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,696 Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: $81,800 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,166 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $78,147 Civil Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,319 Year 2: $64,791 Year 3: $73,804 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,670 Year 2: $62,479 Year 3: $72,114 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,109 Year 2: $59,214 Year 3: $67,065 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,483 Year 2: $57,860 Year 3: $65,846

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