St. Mary's College of Maryland vs Bluefield State College

St. Mary's College of Maryland and Bluefield State College, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. St. Mary's, a public liberal arts college located in Southern Maryland, boasts a higher acceptance rate and a more diverse student body compared to Bluefield State, a public historically black college in West Virginia. While both colleges offer a range of undergraduate programs, St. Mary's is known for its strengths in the liberal arts and sciences, while Bluefield State excels in fields like business, education, and social work. With varying graduation rates and distinct campus cultures, these institutions cater to different student preferences and aspirations. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into the specific details and discover which college aligns best with your academic goals and personal preferences.

	Bluefield State College	St. Mary's College of Maryland
Overview
Location	Bluefield, West Virginia	St. Mary's City, Maryland
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	61.0%	85.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	96.9%	77.3%
Application fees		$50
SAT range	880 - 1110	1135 - 1340
ACT range	17 - 23	26 - 32
Students submitting SAT score	23.0%	24.0%
Students submitting ACT score	19.0%	5.0%
Total number of applicants	1,019	2,872
Total number of admissions given out	987	2,221
Admitted students who chose to enroll	346	381
Yield rate	35.1%	17.2%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $22,971 Out of state: $30,169	In state: $31,361 Out of state: $47,437
Average net price	$11,309	$20,213
Tuition	In state: $8,434 Out of state: $15,632	In state: $12,116 Out of state: $28,192
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,600 Meal plan: $4,800	Room/dormitory: $8,007 Meal plan: $6,340
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	85.0% Average amount $7,250	98.0% Average amount $10,828
Students receiving federal student loan	57.0% Average amount $5,367	39.0% Average amount $5,108
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $7,360	5.0% Average amount $17,506

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,358 Men 39.8% Women 60.2%	1,519 Men 42.3% Women 57.7%
Graduate students	N/A	25 Men 24.0% Women 76.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	11.3%
International students	0.8%	0.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Small
Dormitory capacity	176	1,499
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Maryland Virginia District of Columbia California Connecticut

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Engineering Technologies Education Liberal Arts Business	Education Natural Resources and Conservation Social Sciences Visual & Performing Arts Foreign Languages and Literatures
Students to faculty ratio	13:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	32.3%	72.8%
Dropout rate	48.9%	3.6%
Transferred out	14.7%	23.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $50,489 Year 2: $48,935 Year 3: $51,981 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,859 Year 2: $48,041 Year 3: $51,131 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,154 Year 2: $28,236 Year 3: N/A Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,307 Year 2: $32,391 Year 3: N/A Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,729 Year 2: $30,554 Year 3: N/A Social Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,986 Year 2: $26,933 Year 3: N/A Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: N/A	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,972 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $72,028 Public Policy Analysis (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $39,648 Year 3: $54,648 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,905 Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $53,332 Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,038 Year 3: $46,779 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,826 Year 2: $31,314 Year 3: $46,198 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,641 Year 2: $31,839 Year 3: $43,570 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,544 Year 2: $33,281 Year 3: $43,517 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $18,605 Year 2: $21,052 Year 3: $41,146 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,570 Year 2: $26,121 Year 3: $38,497 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,686 Year 2: $29,322 Year 3: $34,144

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