Southwestern Adventist University vs La Sierra University

Southwestern Adventist University (SWAU) and La Sierra University (LSU) are two highly regarded private Christian universities with distinct characteristics. SWAU, located in Keene, Texas, offers a close-knit community with a lower acceptance rate of 58% and a smaller student body of around 1,000 undergraduates. LSU, situated in Riverside, California, boasts a larger student population of over 2,000 undergraduates and a higher acceptance rate of 75%. Both universities provide a range of popular majors, including nursing, business, and education, but LSU offers a wider selection of graduate programs. While SWAU has a slightly higher graduation rate of 65% compared to LSU's 60%, both institutions are committed to providing quality education and preparing students for success. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	La Sierra University	Southwestern Adventist University
Overview
Location	Riverside, California	Keene, Texas
Campus setting	City: Large	Town: Fringe
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	72.0%	73.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation	Protestant	Protestant

Admission
Acceptance rate	66.1%	57.5%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $25
SAT range	880 - 1140	900 - 1130
ACT range	18 - 28	16 - 25
Students submitting SAT score	25.0%	43.0%
Students submitting ACT score	2.0%	20.0%
Total number of applicants	2,726	1,099
Total number of admissions given out	1,801	632
Admitted students who chose to enroll	287	132
Yield rate	15.9%	20.9%
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	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$59,289	$35,508
Average net price	$25,230	$18,472
Tuition	$33,228	$22,848
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,740 Meal plan: $4,050	Room/dormitory: $4,050 Meal plan: $4,050
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $20,812	100.0% Average amount $14,820
Students receiving federal student loan	59.0% Average amount $4,980	55.0% Average amount $4,995
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $22,020	2.0% Average amount $5,902

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,351 Men 41.2% Women 58.8%	835 Men 39.6% Women 60.4%
Graduate students	387 Men 33.1% Women 66.9%	17 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	14.1%	2.9%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	850	400
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Law Enforcement and Firefighting Health Professions Education Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Health Professions Business Education Psychology Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	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	44.9%	45.4%
Dropout rate	20.1%	13.6%
Transferred out	34.7%	38.3%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $60,771 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $56,649 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,359 Year 2: $26,933 Year 3: $41,100 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $41,044 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,771 Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,215 Year 2: $16,478 Year 3: N/A Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,179 Year 2: $28,019 Year 3: N/A Health/Medical Preparatory Programs (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,431 Year 2: $29,751 Year 3: N/A	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,412 Year 2: $66,941 Year 3: $68,651

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.

La Sierra University

Oakwood University