San Diego State University (SDSU) vs Washington State University (WSU)

San Diego State University (SDSU) and Washington State University (WSU) are two distinct universities with unique offerings and characteristics. SDSU, located in the vibrant city of San Diego, California, boasts a diverse student body and a wide range of academic programs, including popular majors like business, psychology, and engineering. WSU, situated in the picturesque town of Pullman, Washington, is known for its strong research programs and its focus on agriculture, engineering, and veterinary medicine. While both universities offer excellent educational opportunities, they differ in terms of acceptance rates, student demographics, and graduation rates. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	San Diego State University	Washington State University
Overview
Location	San Diego, California	Pullman, Washington
Campus setting	City: Large	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	90.0%	81.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	37.9%	85.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $75
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	67,660	18,197
Total number of admissions given out	25,646	15,607
Admitted students who chose to enroll	5,269	4,007
Yield rate	20.5%	25.7%
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)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $28,256 Out of state: $40,136	In state: $28,767 Out of state: $44,083
Average net price	$6,867	$11,877
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	In state: $10,457 Out of state: $25,773
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $12,824 Meal plan: $6,344	Room/dormitory: $7,400 Meal plan: $4,350
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	47.0% Average amount $9,026	86.0% Average amount $9,993
Students receiving federal student loan	18.0% Average amount $5,015	27.0% Average amount $5,042
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $21,638	3.0% Average amount $15,454

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	31,321 Men 43.1% Women 56.9%	24,278 Men 45.9% Women 54.1%
Graduate students	5,163 Men 35.9% Women 64.1%	5,565 Men 44.7% Women 55.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	24.2%	15.2%
International students	5.5%	5.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	6,514	7,043
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Washington Colorado Texas New Jersey	Washington California Oregon Idaho Hawaii

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Engineering Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Business	Business Engineering Social Sciences Health Professions Education
Students to faculty ratio	26:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	76.2%	59.5%
Dropout rate	20.5%	38.1%
Transferred out	1.4%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $135,393 Year 3: $143,888 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $110,911 Year 2: $123,178 Year 3: $127,531 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,080 Year 2: $100,915 Year 3: $120,737 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $111,957 Year 2: $112,073 Year 3: $119,910 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $106,275 Year 2: $105,813 Year 3: $117,478 Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $82,971 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $96,760 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $76,468 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $88,746 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $80,693 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $81,535 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,112 Year 2: $68,808 Year 3: $80,939 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,531 Year 2: $72,881 Year 3: $79,650

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