South Dakota State University (SDSU) vs Sam Houston State University (SHSU)

South Dakota State University (SDSU) and Sam Houston State University (SHSU) stand out as two distinct institutions of higher learning, each offering unique opportunities and experiences to their students. While both universities share a commitment to academic excellence and student success, they differ in several key aspects. SDSU boasts a higher acceptance rate, making it a more accessible option for prospective students. SHSU, on the other hand, has a slightly higher graduation rate, indicating a strong focus on student retention and completion. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details about these universities, including popular majors, student body demographics, and additional factors that may influence your decision. Discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Sam Houston State University	South Dakota State University
Overview
Location	Huntsville, Texas	Brookings, South Dakota
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Town: Remote
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%	80.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	96.6%	87.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $35
SAT range	950 - 1120	980 - 1220
ACT range	18 - 23	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score	57.0%	3.0%
Students submitting ACT score	16.0%	86.0%
Total number of applicants	11,556	5,774
Total number of admissions given out	11,161	5,048
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,908	2,019
Yield rate	26.1%	40.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	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: $24,304 Out of state: $27,814
Average net price	$14,287	$17,859
Tuition	In state: $5,856 Out of state: $15,648	In state: $7,773 Out of state: $11,283
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,918 Meal plan: $4,650	Room/dormitory: $4,054 Meal plan: $4,082
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	81.0% Average amount $4,747
Students receiving federal student loan	52.0% Average amount $5,618	60.0% Average amount $5,063
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $14,496	17.0% Average amount $9,956

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	18,288 Men 36.2% Women 63.8%	9,847 Men 45.2% Women 54.8%
Graduate students	3,324 Men 31.7% Women 68.3%	1,618 Men 37.3% Women 62.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Very Low
Out-of-state students	1.4%	N/A
International students	1.3%	5.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	3,398	4,488
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	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Education Health Professions Agriculture Communication and Journalism	Health Professions Engineering Family and Consumer Sciences Education Agriculture
Students to faculty ratio	20:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	57.3%	59.5%
Dropout rate	16.2%	38.9%
Transferred out	23.6%	N/A
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	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $110,688 Year 2: $117,014 Year 3: $126,250 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $92,277 Year 3: $114,802 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,967 Year 2: $74,845 Year 3: $81,032 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,229 Year 2: $61,322 Year 3: $70,114 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,268 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $62,932 Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,985 Year 2: $56,234 Year 3: $61,104 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,372 Year 2: $57,860 Year 3: $60,463 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,551 Year 2: $56,776 Year 3: $59,988 Plant Sciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,213 Year 2: $55,151 Year 3: $55,715 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $54,439

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

South Dakota State University (SDSU) vs Sam Houston State University (SHSU)

Sam Houston State University

South Dakota State University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

Compare Similar Colleges

Find Colleges By State

Resources

About