Salem State vs West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCUPA)

Salem State University and West Chester University of Pennsylvania, both public universities with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Salem State, located just north of Boston, Massachusetts, boasts a diverse student body and a strong focus on liberal arts and sciences. West Chester, situated in the vibrant town of West Chester, Pennsylvania, excels in teacher preparation and boasts a beautiful campus. While both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, they differ in acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Salem State University	West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Overview
Location	Salem, Massachusetts	West Chester, Pennsylvania
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	75.0%	85.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	90.0%	89.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $45 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	1070 - 1250
ACT range	N/A	23 - 29
Students submitting SAT score		27.0%
Students submitting ACT score		1.0%
Total number of applicants	6,287	14,020
Total number of admissions given out	5,659	12,528
Admitted students who chose to enroll	939	2,628
Yield rate	16.6%	21.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not 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: $27,123 Out of state: $33,928	In state: $28,419 Out of state: $40,243
Average net price	$18,125	$14,133
Tuition	In state: $910 Out of state: $7,050	In state: $7,716 Out of state: $19,290
Room & board	$14,590	Room/dormitory: $5,794 Meal plan: $3,700
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	91.0% Average amount $7,673	100.0% Average amount $4,607
Students receiving federal student loan	67.0% Average amount $4,984	51.0% Average amount $5,238
Students taking out private loans	10.0% Average amount $12,948	11.0% Average amount $11,835

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	5,555 Men 34.5% Women 65.5%	14,471 Men 40.0% Women 60.0%
Graduate students	1,576 Men 21.8% Women 78.2%	3,143 Men 31.7% Women 68.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	11.4%
International students	2.5%	0.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,928	5,128
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York New Hampshire Connecticut Rhode Island Vermont	Pennsylvania New Jersey Delaware Maryland New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Public Administration and Social Service Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Health Professions Business Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Public Administration and Social Service
Students to faculty ratio	13:1	20:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	56.8%	72.8%
Dropout rate	40.8%	7.6%
Transferred out	N/A	18.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,514 Year 2: $91,211 Year 3: $102,513 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,034 Year 2: $70,863 Year 3: $83,078 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,346 Year 2: $66,653 Year 3: $74,076 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,184 Year 2: $59,253 Year 3: $67,374 Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,978 Year 2: $57,589 Year 3: $65,537 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,367 Year 2: $53,508 Year 3: $61,456 Business/Managerial Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,396 Year 2: $50,856 Year 3: $58,904 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $53,608 Year 3: $57,532 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,096 Year 2: $58,402 Year 3: $56,740 Music (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $56,355

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