Salem State vs Bridgewater State

Salem State University and Bridgewater State University, both esteemed public universities in Massachusetts, offer distinct educational experiences. Salem State, located in the vibrant city of Salem, boasts a diverse student body and a strong focus on liberal arts, while Bridgewater State, situated in the charming town of Bridgewater, excels in STEM fields and teacher preparation. With varying acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation outcomes, these universities cater to different academic interests and career aspirations. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover which institution aligns best with your unique goals and preferences.

	Bridgewater State University	Salem State University
Overview
Location	Bridgewater, Massachusetts	Salem, Massachusetts
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
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	79.0%	75.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	86.4%	90.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1010 - 1200	N/A
ACT range	19 - 28	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	18.0%
Students submitting ACT score	1.0%
Total number of applicants	8,881	6,287
Total number of admissions given out	7,671	5,659
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,382	939
Yield rate	18.0%	16.6%
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: $29,164 Out of state: $35,304	In state: $27,123 Out of state: $33,928
Average net price	$12,744	$18,125
Tuition	In state: $910 Out of state: $7,050	In state: $910 Out of state: $7,050
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,256 Meal plan: $4,576	$14,590
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	74.0% Average amount $7,617	91.0% Average amount $7,673
Students receiving federal student loan	81.0% Average amount $3,681	67.0% Average amount $4,984
Students taking out private loans	13.0% Average amount $12,080	10.0% Average amount $12,948

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,369 Men 40.7% Women 59.3%	5,555 Men 34.5% Women 65.5%
Graduate students	1,573 Men 23.2% Women 76.8%	1,576 Men 21.8% Women 78.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	0.6%	2.5%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	3,304	1,928
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Mississippi Rhode Island Connecticut New Hampshire Maine	New York New Hampshire Connecticut Rhode Island Vermont

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Public Administration and Social Service Business Psychology	Education Health Professions Business Public Administration and Social Service Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	62.4%	56.8%
Dropout rate	35.1%	40.8%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $70,437 Year 2: $68,858 Year 3: $78,114 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,602 Year 2: $60,623 Year 3: $66,570 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,446 Year 2: $54,053 Year 3: $58,775 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $47,202 Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $58,619 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,074 Year 2: $46,869 Year 3: $55,780 Air Transportation (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,151 Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $53,648 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $45,960 Year 2: $45,383 Year 3: $53,145 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,152 Year 2: $50,161 Year 3: $53,025 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,273 Year 2: $44,371 Year 3: $50,098 Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,643 Year 2: $44,170 Year 3: $49,769	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,461 Year 2: $67,660 Year 3: $81,500 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,690 Year 2: $69,261 Year 3: $74,129 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,511 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $69,206 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,183 Year 2: $71,854 Year 3: $64,195 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,356 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $61,164 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $47,191 Year 2: $54,855 Year 3: $59,882 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,049 Year 2: $50,606 Year 3: $53,563 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,859 Year 2: $48,302 Year 3: $52,492 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $47,960 Year 2: $47,729 Year 3: $51,920 Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,346 Year 2: $45,696 Year 3: $51,685

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