Southern Arkansas University Main Campus vs Fairmont State

Southern Arkansas University Main Campus and Fairmont State University, both public institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Southern Arkansas University Main Campus, located in Magnolia, Arkansas, has a higher acceptance rate (88%) compared to Fairmont State University's 76% in Fairmont, West Virginia. Southern Arkansas University Main Campus boasts a larger student body, with over 3,000 undergraduates, while Fairmont State University has a more intimate community of around 2,500 undergraduates. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors including Business, Education, and Nursing. However, Fairmont State University has a slightly higher graduation rate (58%) compared to Southern Arkansas University Main Campus's 48%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Fairmont State University	Southern Arkansas University Main Campus
Overview
Location	Fairmont, West Virginia	Magnolia, Arkansas
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	61.0%	64.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	98.8%	62.6%
Application fees	$50	$25
SAT range	900 - 1090	930 - 1140
ACT range	17 - 23	18 - 25
Students submitting SAT score	46.0%	10.0%
Students submitting ACT score	34.0%	100.0%
Total number of applicants	1,767	2,813
Total number of admissions given out	1,745	1,761
Admitted students who chose to enroll	655	632
Yield rate	37.5%	35.9%
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: $20,914 Out of state: $30,172	In state: $26,411 Out of state: $31,631
Average net price	$11,277	$14,141
Tuition	In state: $5,946 Out of state: $14,992	In state: $6,750 Out of state: $11,970
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,624 Meal plan: $4,574	Room/dormitory: $4,340 Meal plan: $3,444
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	94.0% Average amount $6,593	98.0% Average amount $8,861
Students receiving federal student loan	53.0% Average amount $4,996	50.0% Average amount $5,247
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $11,907	3.0% Average amount $8,817

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,273 Men 40.6% Women 59.4%	3,160 Men 43.4% Women 56.6%
Graduate students	289 Men 32.9% Women 67.1%	1,274 Men 35.2% Women 64.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	11.1%	28.0%
International students	1.6%	7.5%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	1,058	2,032
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	West Virginia Pennsylvania Maryland Virginia Ohio	Arkansas Texas Louisiana Oklahoma Alabama

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Engineering Technologies Education Liberal Arts Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Liberal Arts Education Business Computer and Information Science Agriculture
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	45.4%	40.1%
Dropout rate	33.9%	23.3%
Transferred out	20.6%	35.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,279 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $62,993 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,620 Year 2: $63,855 Year 3: $61,157 Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,294 Year 2: $54,153 Year 3: $58,294 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $58,529 Year 2: $56,641 Year 3: $56,475 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $39,809 Year 2: $37,306 Year 3: $43,308 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,042 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: $41,321 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,631 Year 2: $30,409 Year 3: $39,952 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,253 Year 2: $31,189 Year 3: $39,801 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,125 Year 2: $31,495 Year 3: $38,357 Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,334 Year 2: $28,816 Year 3: $34,425	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,230 Year 2: $58,402 Year 3: $70,408 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,929 Year 2: $55,151 Year 3: $62,262 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $39,925 Year 2: $42,458 Year 3: $42,763 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,784 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $38,968 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,986 Year 2: $30,228 Year 3: $35,029 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,781 Year 2: $33,565 Year 3: $33,986 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $28,923 Physics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,362 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: N/A Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: N/A Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $58,402 Year 3: N/A

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Southern Arkansas University Main Campus vs Fairmont State

Fairmont State University

Southern Arkansas University Main Campus

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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