Sam Houston State University (SHSU) vs University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK)

Sam Houston State University and University of Nebraska at Kearney, both public universities with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Sam Houston, located in Huntsville, Texas, boasts a higher acceptance rate (84%) compared to UNK's 80%. With a larger student body, Sam Houston offers a more diverse range of undergraduate programs, including popular majors like Criminal Justice and Business Administration. UNK, situated in Kearney, Nebraska, excels in fields like Education and Nursing, reflecting its strong focus on preparing students for careers in these areas. While UNK has a slightly higher graduation rate (62% vs. 59%), both universities provide ample opportunities for students to succeed academically and professionally. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and goals.

	Sam Houston State University	University of Nebraska at Kearney
Overview
Location	Huntsville, Texas	Kearney, Nebraska
Campus setting	Town: Distant	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	73.0%	76.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	96.6%	90.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $45 Graduate: $45
SAT range	950 - 1120	938 - 1133
ACT range	18 - 23	18 - 25
Students submitting SAT score	57.0%	4.0%
Students submitting ACT score	16.0%	86.0%
Total number of applicants	11,556	6,076
Total number of admissions given out	11,161	5,488
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,908	958
Yield rate	26.1%	17.5%
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	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $24,612 Out of state: $34,404	In state: $24,300 Out of state: $30,552
Average net price	$14,287	$16,433
Tuition	In state: $5,856 Out of state: $15,648	In state: $6,292 Out of state: $12,498
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,918 Meal plan: $4,650	Room/dormitory: $5,436 Meal plan: $5,192
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	70.0% Average amount $9,492	85.0% Average amount $7,441
Students receiving federal student loan	52.0% Average amount $5,618	45.0% Average amount $4,821
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $14,496	5.0% Average amount $9,368

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	18,288 Men 36.2% Women 63.8%	4,427 Men 37.7% Women 62.3%
Graduate students	3,324 Men 31.7% Women 68.3%	1,848 Men 30.2% Women 69.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Very Low
Out-of-state students	1.4%	9.9%
International students	1.3%	4.2%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	3,398	2,072
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Texas Florida California Arkansas Illinois	Nebraska Colorado Kansas Iowa Wyoming

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Education Health Professions Agriculture Communication and Journalism	Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences Business Health Professions Liberal Arts
Students to faculty ratio	20:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	57.3%	58.0%
Dropout rate	16.2%	11.4%
Transferred out	23.6%	28.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,208 Year 2: $58,479 Year 3: $63,133 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $48,641 Year 3: $54,125 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $49,040 Year 2: $52,607 Year 3: $53,723 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,490 Year 2: $48,302 Year 3: $53,277 Biology, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,246 Year 2: $48,432 Year 3: $52,603 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,894 Year 2: $45,618 Year 3: $52,491 Fine and Studio Arts (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,665 Year 2: $48,432 Year 3: $51,898 Agricultural Business and Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,654 Year 2: $38,829 Year 3: $51,703 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $49,159 Year 2: $49,464 Year 3: $51,277 Curriculum and Instruction (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,157 Year 2: $45,500 Year 3: $49,659

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