Sam Houston State University (SHSU) vs Arkansas Tech University (ATU)

Sam Houston State University and Arkansas Tech University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Sam Houston State, located in Huntsville, Texas, boasts a higher acceptance rate (78%) compared to Arkansas Tech's 70% in Russellville, Arkansas. While Sam Houston State's student body is more diverse, with a larger international student population, Arkansas Tech has a slightly higher graduation rate (58% vs. 56%). Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, with popular majors including business, education, and nursing. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions between these two excellent universities and make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Arkansas Tech University	Sam Houston State University
Overview
Location	Russellville, Arkansas	Huntsville, Texas
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Town: Distant
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	63.0%	73.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	94.4%	96.6%
Application fees	$40	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	950 - 1120
ACT range	N/A	18 - 23
Students submitting SAT score		57.0%
Students submitting ACT score		16.0%
Total number of applicants	6,218	11,556
Total number of admissions given out	5,868	11,161
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,396	2,908
Yield rate	23.8%	26.1%
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: $27,125 Out of state: $32,861	In state: $24,612 Out of state: $34,404
Average net price	$11,097	$14,287
Tuition	In state: $5,736 Out of state: $11,472	In state: $5,856 Out of state: $15,648
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,996 Meal plan: $4,000	Room/dormitory: $5,918 Meal plan: $4,650
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	94.0% Average amount $8,425	70.0% Average amount $9,492
Students receiving federal student loan	43.0% Average amount $6,090	52.0% Average amount $5,618
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $8,627	0.0% Average amount $14,496

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,901 Men 43.8% Women 56.2%	18,288 Men 36.2% Women 63.8%
Graduate students	739 Men 36.3% Women 63.7%	3,324 Men 31.7% Women 68.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	6.2%	1.4%
International students	2.2%	1.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	2,100	3,398
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Arkansas Texas Oklahoma Missouri Tennessee	Texas Florida California Arkansas Illinois

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Liberal Arts Education Business Law Enforcement and Firefighting	Business Education Health Professions Agriculture Communication and Journalism
Students to faculty ratio	18:1	20:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	45.8%	57.3%
Dropout rate	30.2%	16.2%
Transferred out	22.2%	23.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,093 Year 2: $54,974 Year 3: $63,833 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,586 Year 2: $57,955 Year 3: $59,678 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,980 Year 2: $45,808 Year 3: $58,934 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $59,665 Year 2: $52,607 Year 3: $58,602 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,486 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $54,362 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,609 Year 2: $49,136 Year 3: $53,009 Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $44,819 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $43,990 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $36,415 Year 2: $40,222 Year 3: $42,597 Homeland Security (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,633 Year 2: $36,668 Year 3: $41,833 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $39,931 Year 2: $38,649 Year 3: $41,419	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $73,554 Year 2: $68,858 Year 3: $76,776 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $68,691 Year 2: $74,953 Year 3: $76,058 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,097 Year 2: $69,740 Year 3: $73,214 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,694 Year 2: $66,049 Year 3: $72,403 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,377 Year 2: $56,415 Year 3: $67,947 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,438 Year 2: $60,128 Year 3: $67,313 Music (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,381 Year 2: $57,705 Year 3: $65,080 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,710 Year 2: $68,666 Year 3: $62,801 Agricultural Mechanization (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,352 Year 2: $49,436 Year 3: $59,631 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,213 Year 2: $56,579 Year 3: $57,976

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