Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIU) vs Illinois State

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIU-C) and Illinois State University (ISU) are two public universities in Illinois with distinct characteristics. SIU-C, located in Carbondale, has a higher acceptance rate (86%) compared to ISU's (79%). Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors at SIU-C including Engineering, Business, and Education, while ISU is known for its strong programs in Business, Education, and Health Professions. SIU-C has a larger student body, with over 12,000 undergraduates, while ISU has a more moderate undergraduate population of around 10,000. In terms of graduation rates, ISU boasts a slightly higher four-year graduation rate (38%) compared to SIU-C's (35%). To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table below, highlighting key differences between these two universities. Explore the table

	Illinois State University	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
Overview
Location	Normal, Illinois	Carbondale, Illinois
Campus setting	Suburb: Midsize	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	83.0%	75.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	91.5%	95.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $65
SAT range	1000 - 1200	930 - 1160
ACT range	21 - 27	20 - 28
Students submitting SAT score	51.0%	43.0%
Students submitting ACT score	19.0%	18.0%
Total number of applicants	11,913	6,987
Total number of admissions given out	10,905	6,648
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,374	1,422
Yield rate	30.9%	21.4%
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)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $31,811 Out of state: $43,335	$29,903
Average net price	$21,033	$15,976
Tuition	In state: $11,524 Out of state: $23,048	$9,638
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,494 Meal plan: $4,652	Room/dormitory: $6,292 Meal plan: $4,330
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan Other alternative tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	91.0% Average amount $10,848	91.0% Average amount $13,301
Students receiving federal student loan	46.0% Average amount $5,065	55.0% Average amount $5,362
Students taking out private loans	8.0% Average amount $14,532	8.0% Average amount $12,619

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	17,674 Men 43.0% Women 57.0%	8,147 Men 51.4% Women 48.6%
Graduate students	2,559 Men 35.1% Women 64.9%	3,119 Men 46.3% Women 53.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	4.2%	17.5%
International students	2.8%	7.7%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Midsize	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	5,560	4,492
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Illinois Missouri Wisconsin Michigan Iowa	Illinois Missouri Indiana Tennessee Wisconsin

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Communication and Journalism Computer and Information Science	Health Professions Education Engineering Technologies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Transportation and Logistics
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	67.3%	45.3%
Dropout rate	32.0%	53.2%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,556 Year 2: $95,930 Year 3: $102,485 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,002 Year 2: $64,990 Year 3: $78,276 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,303 Year 2: $72,884 Year 3: $77,896 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,576 Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $73,936 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,516 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $73,592 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $62,000 Year 2: $64,791 Year 3: $70,358 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,829 Year 2: $65,194 Year 3: $65,533 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,294 Year 2: $54,996 Year 3: $64,567 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,313 Year 2: $52,781 Year 3: $64,241 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,480 Year 2: $54,470 Year 3: $63,207	Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,053 Year 2: $104,597 Year 3: $108,594 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,138 Year 2: $65,905 Year 3: $75,851 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,097 Year 2: $64,068 Year 3: $70,959 Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $55,319 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $66,942 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,274 Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $66,280 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,465 Year 2: $58,221 Year 3: $62,788 Architecture (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,426 Year 2: $53,219 Year 3: $62,608 Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,372 Year 2: $55,211 Year 3: $62,306 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,213 Year 2: $55,061 Year 3: $62,169 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,024 Year 2: $49,840 Year 3: $62,089

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Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIU) vs Illinois State

Illinois State University

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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