Southern Methodist University (SMU) vs Pepperdine

Southern Methodist University (SMU) and Pepperdine University are two highly regarded private institutions offering distinct educational experiences. SMU, located in the vibrant city of Dallas, Texas, boasts a diverse student body and a strong focus on research and innovation. Pepperdine, nestled in the scenic Malibu, California, emphasizes faith-based learning and community engagement. While both universities share a commitment to academic excellence, they differ in several key aspects, including acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Pepperdine University	Southern Methodist University
Overview
Location	Malibu, California	Dallas, Texas
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	93.0%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Churches of Christ	Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	52.7%	53.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75
SAT range	1260 - 1440	1340 - 1510
ACT range	25 - 30	31 - 34
Students submitting SAT score	19.0%	16.0%
Students submitting ACT score	3.0%	23.0%
Total number of applicants	11,855	15,685
Total number of admissions given out	6,249	8,333
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,024	1,572
Yield rate	16.4%	18.9%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$80,152	$72,336
Average net price	$40,945	$41,986
Tuition	$59,450	$53,464
Room & board	$16,700	Room/dormitory: $10,860 Meal plan: $6,578
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	96.0% Average amount $36,967	74.0% Average amount $34,940
Students receiving federal student loan	38.0% Average amount $5,171	25.0% Average amount $5,241
Students taking out private loans	9.0% Average amount $12,899	5.0% Average amount $29,055

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,708 Men 42.3% Women 57.7%	6,908 Men 50.5% Women 49.5%
Graduate students	6,738 Men 30.2% Women 69.8%	5,477 Men 52.4% Women 47.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	46.9%	59.4%
International students	8.3%	8.1%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,579	3,403
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Texas Washington Colorado Arizona	Texas California Florida New York Illinois

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Psychology Legal Profession Education Multidisciplinary Studies	Business Engineering Education Legal Profession Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	13:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	83.0%	82.4%
Dropout rate	16.6%	4.7%
Transferred out	N/A	12.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,699 Year 2: $92,733 Year 3: $106,087 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $64,518 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $93,293 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $97,829 Year 2: $96,691 Year 3: $91,701 Law (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $66,898 Year 2: $71,015 Year 3: $90,146 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,350 Year 2: $62,508 Year 3: $75,589 Public Policy Analysis (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $49,825 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $71,546 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,559 Year 2: $57,770 Year 3: $70,082 International Business (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,228 Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $65,821 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,799 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $58,854 Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,780 Year 2: $46,156 Year 3: $56,663	Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,915 Year 2: $111,196 Year 3: $127,135 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $118,537 Year 2: $120,363 Year 3: $120,106 Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,239 Year 2: $101,558 Year 3: $116,891 Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $104,021 Year 2: $101,072 Year 3: $112,196 Marketing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $89,842 Year 2: $101,072 Year 3: $107,302 Computer Systems Analysis (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,251 Year 2: $81,491 Year 3: $100,026 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,824 Year 2: $86,867 Year 3: $99,671 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $81,633 Year 2: $81,554 Year 3: $99,143 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,678 Year 2: $73,446 Year 3: $89,611 Operations Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $89,319

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.

Southern Methodist University (SMU) vs Pepperdine

Pepperdine University

Southern Methodist University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

Compare Similar Colleges

Find Colleges By State

Resources

About