Southern A&M vs Virginia State

Southern University and A & M College and Virginia State University, both historically Black universities, offer unique educational experiences for students seeking a diverse and enriching college environment. Southern University, located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, boasts a higher acceptance rate (78%) compared to Virginia State University's (68%) in Petersburg, Virginia. While Southern University's student body is predominantly African American (90%), Virginia State University's student body is more diverse, with a significant population of African American (72%) and White (18%) students. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors including Business, Education, and Nursing. However, Southern University has a slightly higher graduation rate (48%) than Virginia State University (45%). Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions between these two esteemed institutions and make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Southern University and A & M College	Virginia State University
Overview
Location	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Petersburg, Virginia
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
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	67.0%	76.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	58.9%	96.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $25
SAT range	840 - 1015	830 - 1040
ACT range	15 - 19	15 - 21
Students submitting SAT score	12.0%	21.0%
Students submitting ACT score	73.0%	3.0%
Total number of applicants	8,551	9,978
Total number of admissions given out	5,035	9,587
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,618	920
Yield rate	32.1%	9.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $26,070 Out of state: $33,420	In state: $23,673 Out of state: $35,428
Average net price	$16,310	$16,770
Tuition	$4,973	In state: $5,540 Out of state: $16,542
Room & board	$9,366	Room/dormitory: $6,744 Meal plan: $4,800
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	89.0% Average amount $7,726	92.0% Average amount $11,499
Students receiving federal student loan	83.0% Average amount $6,204	90.0% Average amount $7,480
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $11,819	2.0% Average amount $3,092

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	6,560 Men 34.3% Women 65.7%	3,899 Men 40.1% Women 59.9%
Graduate students	1,757 Men 36.4% Women 63.6%	401 Men 30.4% Women 69.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	30.5%	31.9%
International students	0.5%	0.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	4,600	2,360
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Louisiana Texas Georgia California Florida	Virginia New York Maryland District of Columbia New Jersey

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Legal Profession Business Law Enforcement and Firefighting Public Administration and Social Service	Business Psychology Education Communication and Journalism Law Enforcement and Firefighting
Students to faculty ratio	20:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	32.0%	47.8%
Dropout rate	60.9%	25.1%
Transferred out	N/A	22.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $93,985 Year 2: $90,856 Year 3: $94,690 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,173 Year 2: $51,187 Year 3: $74,549 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,608 Year 2: $62,064 Year 3: $57,783 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $45,056 Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $54,897 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,155 Year 2: $49,344 Year 3: $53,318 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $41,467 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $49,164 Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $37,606 Year 2: $50,439 Year 3: $48,443 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,522 Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $47,501 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $47,639 Year 2: $48,139 Year 3: $47,068 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $35,369 Year 2: $36,848 Year 3: $39,415	Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $60,198 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,564 Year 2: $32,382 Year 3: $41,446 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,514 Year 2: $37,424 Year 3: $40,545 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,671 Year 2: $25,967 Year 3: $39,545 Hospitality Administration/Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,213 Year 2: $23,649 Year 3: $35,949 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,745 Year 2: $28,816 Year 3: $35,132 Social Work (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,882 Year 2: $33,281 Year 3: $34,139 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $21,298 Year 2: $25,615 Year 3: $30,192 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,185 Year 2: $24,035 Year 3: $29,021 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,290 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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