Southern Methodist University (SMU) vs Tennessee State

Southern Methodist University (SMU) and Tennessee State University (TSU) are two distinct institutions of higher learning with unique characteristics and offerings. SMU, a private research university located in Dallas, Texas, boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 44%, while TSU, a public land-grant research university in Nashville, Tennessee, offers a more accessible admissions process with an acceptance rate of 64%. SMU's student body is predominantly White (58%) and Asian (19%), while TSU's student body is predominantly Black or African American (84%). Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, with popular majors at SMU including Business, Engineering, and Humanities, and popular majors at TSU including Business, Education, and Health Professions. SMU has a higher graduation rate (84%) compared to TSU (54%). To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we have compiled a

	Southern Methodist University	Tennessee State University
Overview
Location	Dallas, Texas	Nashville, Tennessee
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	91.0%	53.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation	Methodism

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

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$72,336	In state: $29,346 Out of state: $42,702
Average net price	$41,986	$11,880
Tuition	$53,464	In state: $7,128 Out of state: $20,484
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $10,860 Meal plan: $6,578	Room/dormitory: $3,958 Meal plan: $4,208
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	74.0% Average amount $34,940	70.0% Average amount $11,763
Students receiving federal student loan	25.0% Average amount $5,241	44.0% Average amount $5,525
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $29,055	2.0% Average amount $16,866

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	6,908 Men 50.5% Women 49.5%	6,375 Men 36.4% Women 63.6%
Graduate students	5,477 Men 52.4% Women 47.6%	1,702 Men 30.7% Women 69.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	59.4%	60.5%
International students	8.1%	6.2%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	3,403	2,960
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Texas California Florida New York Illinois	Tennessee Georgia Illinois Alabama Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Engineering Education Legal Profession Computer and Information Science	Health Professions Business Education Public Administration and Social Service Psychology
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	14:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	82.4%	30.3%
Dropout rate	4.7%	34.7%
Transferred out	12.4%	32.1%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $82,844 Year 2: $87,815 Year 3: $92,171 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $68,196 Year 2: $69,785 Year 3: $76,676 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $63,153 Year 2: $66,401 Year 3: $68,568 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,247 Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $64,166 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $53,002 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $60,516 Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $47,786 Year 2: $51,106 Year 3: $55,951 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,119 Year 2: $54,463 Year 3: $55,511 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $47,306 Year 2: $53,358 Year 3: $51,216 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,743 Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $45,501 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $38,198 Year 2: $41,937 Year 3: $45,402

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Southern Methodist University (SMU) vs Tennessee State

Southern Methodist University

Tennessee State University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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