Portland State vs San Diego State University (SDSU)

Portland State University and San Diego State University, both located in vibrant cities on the West Coast, offer distinct educational experiences. Portland State, nestled in the heart of Portland, Oregon, boasts a diverse student body and a strong focus on sustainability. San Diego State, situated in the sunny city of San Diego, California, is known for its research opportunities and its Division I athletic programs. With different acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates, these universities cater to different student preferences and aspirations. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover which university aligns best with your academic goals and personal preferences.

	Portland State University	San Diego State University
Overview
Location	Portland, Oregon	San Diego, California
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	76.0%	90.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	98.4%	37.9%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $67	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70
SAT range	1000 - 1250	N/A
ACT range	17 - 24	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	9.0%
Students submitting ACT score	8.0%
Total number of applicants	6,859	67,660
Total number of admissions given out	6,751	25,646
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,741	5,269
Yield rate	25.8%	20.5%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $28,296 Out of state: $47,196	In state: $28,256 Out of state: $40,136
Average net price	$13,015	$6,867
Tuition	In state: $8,685 Out of state: $27,585	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,179 Meal plan: $4,548	Room/dormitory: $12,824 Meal plan: $6,344
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	70.0% Average amount $9,424	47.0% Average amount $9,026
Students receiving federal student loan	40.0% Average amount $4,437	18.0% Average amount $5,015
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $16,901	2.0% Average amount $21,638

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	17,753 Men 43.8% Women 56.2%	31,321 Men 43.1% Women 56.9%
Graduate students	5,105 Men 35.5% Women 64.5%	5,163 Men 35.9% Women 64.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	20.4%	24.2%
International students	5.0%	5.5%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,352	6,514
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Oregon California Washington Hawaii Colorado	California Washington Colorado Texas New Jersey

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Engineering Business Public Administration and Social Service Computer and Information Science	Health Professions Engineering Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Business
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	26:1
Institutional accreditation	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	53.8%	76.2%
Dropout rate	18.3%	20.5%
Transferred out	23.4%	1.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $84,200 Year 2: $68,499 Year 3: $87,104 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $89,225 Year 2: $87,377 Year 3: $85,451 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,870 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $80,004 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,965 Year 2: $65,089 Year 3: $79,350 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,385 Year 2: $69,757 Year 3: $78,880 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,997 Year 2: $66,318 Year 3: $76,755 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $74,008 Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: $75,680 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,000 Year 2: $70,456 Year 3: $75,014 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,495 Year 2: $62,317 Year 3: $73,021 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,099 Year 2: $67,995 Year 3: $72,884

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Portland State vs San Diego State University (SDSU)

Portland State University

San Diego State University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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