Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIU) vs Western Illinois University (WIU)

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIU-C) and Western Illinois University (WIU) are two public universities located in the state of Illinois, each offering a unique educational experience. SIU-C, situated in the southern part of the state, boasts a larger student body and a higher acceptance rate compared to WIU, which is nestled in the western region. While both universities offer a diverse range of academic programs, SIU-C excels in fields like engineering, business, and health sciences, while WIU is known for its strengths in education, nursing, and social work. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details about these institutions, including their acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, graduation rates, and more, to help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale	Western Illinois University
Overview
Location	Carbondale, Illinois	Macomb, Illinois
Campus setting	City: Small	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	75.0%	72.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	95.1%	72.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $65	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30
SAT range	930 - 1160	N/A
ACT range	20 - 28	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	43.0%
Students submitting ACT score	18.0%
Total number of applicants	6,987	7,156
Total number of admissions given out	6,648	5,187
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,422	920
Yield rate	21.4%	17.7%
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	$29,903	$29,140
Average net price	$15,976	$11,666
Tuition	$9,638	$9,238
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,292 Meal plan: $4,330	Room/dormitory: $6,240 Meal plan: $3,952
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan Other alternative tuition plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	91.0% Average amount $13,301	94.0% Average amount $13,937
Students receiving federal student loan	55.0% Average amount $5,362	50.0% Average amount $5,417
Students taking out private loans	8.0% Average amount $12,619	5.0% Average amount $9,533

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,147 Men 51.4% Women 48.6%	5,394 Men 43.5% Women 56.5%
Graduate students	3,119 Men 46.3% Women 53.7%	2,061 Men 42.9% Women 57.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	17.5%	9.7%
International students	7.7%	8.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	4,492	3,083
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Illinois Missouri Indiana Tennessee Wisconsin	Illinois Iowa Missouri Wisconsin Indiana

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Engineering Technologies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Transportation and Logistics	Education Business Liberal Arts Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Health Professions
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	45.3%	50.9%
Dropout rate	53.2%	16.5%
Transferred out	N/A	31.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,427 Year 2: $63,166 Year 3: $79,149 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,346 Year 2: $81,702 Year 3: $72,457 Engineering Technology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,220 Year 2: $60,771 Year 3: $65,823 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $64,904 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,827 Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $64,741 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,966 Year 2: $58,334 Year 3: $63,350 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,154 Year 2: $49,729 Year 3: $54,520 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,063 Year 2: $43,612 Year 3: $53,379 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,058 Year 2: $48,667 Year 3: $52,271 Educational/Instructional Media Design (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,853 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $51,827

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