Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) vs Northern Illinois University (NIU)

Southeast Missouri State University and Northern Illinois University, both public institutions with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Southeast Missouri State, nestled in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, boasts a smaller student body, resulting in a more intimate learning environment. With an acceptance rate of 86%, it welcomes a diverse student population. Northern Illinois University, located in DeKalb, Illinois, offers a larger and more diverse student body, with an acceptance rate of 79%. Both universities provide a wide range of academic programs, with popular majors including business, education, and nursing. While Southeast Missouri State has a higher graduation rate, Northern Illinois University offers more research opportunities for undergraduate students. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover which university better aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Northern Illinois University	Southeast Missouri State University
Overview
Location	Dekalb, Illinois	Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Campus setting	Suburb: Small	City: Small
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	67.0%	74.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	70.4%	79.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $60
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	22,602	7,213
Total number of admissions given out	15,922	5,720
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,285	1,487
Yield rate	14.4%	26.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$27,218	In state: $24,274 Out of state: $30,844
Average net price	$13,265	$13,291
Tuition	$9,606	In state: $7,461 Out of state: $14,031
Room & board	$11,098	$9,974
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $13,008	97.0% Average amount $8,798
Students receiving federal student loan	58.0% Average amount $5,313	44.0% Average amount $5,108
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $11,726	4.0% Average amount $8,660

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	11,834 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	8,629 Men 39.1% Women 60.9%
Graduate students	4,400 Men 40.8% Women 59.2%	1,222 Men 39.3% Women 60.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	22.1%
International students	4.6%	6.9%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	4,500	2,592
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Missouri Illinois Tennessee Arkansas Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Engineering Computer and Information Science	Education Business Health Professions Computer and Information Science Liberal Arts
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	20:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	50.8%	54.0%
Dropout rate	46.9%	42.9%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $118,716 Year 2: $98,186 Year 3: $125,726 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,047 Year 2: $88,920 Year 3: $96,563 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,161 Year 2: $91,587 Year 3: $94,214 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,013 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $76,350 Computer Science (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,606 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $75,980 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,752 Year 2: $64,150 Year 3: $74,168 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,234 Year 2: $66,989 Year 3: $74,151 Psychology, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $57,535 Year 2: $68,499 Year 3: $73,940 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $70,453 Year 2: $69,151 Year 3: $72,792 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $63,291 Year 2: $63,685 Year 3: $72,760	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $93,342 Year 3: $99,594 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,803 Year 2: $70,456 Year 3: $76,814 Engineering Technology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,063 Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $64,901 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,908 Year 2: $53,358 Year 3: $62,604 Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,597 Year 2: $36,848 Year 3: $57,947 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,369 Year 2: $53,358 Year 3: $55,490 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,023 Year 2: $49,527 Year 3: $55,484 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,855 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $51,525 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,714 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $51,167 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,772 Year 2: $41,441 Year 3: $50,332

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