St. Mary's University vs Pepperdine

St. Mary's University and Pepperdine University, both esteemed private institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. St. Mary's, located in San Antonio, Texas, boasts a higher acceptance rate (75%) compared to Pepperdine's selective 34%. While Pepperdine's student body is predominantly White (53%), St. Mary's student body is more diverse, with a significant Hispanic population (52%). Both universities excel in certain academic areas: St. Mary's is known for its strong programs in business and nursing, while Pepperdine is renowned for its acclaimed programs in business, law, and education. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these universities' graduation rates, popular majors, and other key differences that can help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Pepperdine University	St. Mary's University
Overview
Location	Malibu, California	San Antonio, Texas
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: 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%	71.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Churches of Christ	Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	52.7%	88.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	1260 - 1440	N/A
ACT range	25 - 30	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	19.0%
Students submitting ACT score	3.0%
Total number of applicants	11,855	4,305
Total number of admissions given out	6,249	3,808
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,024	606
Yield rate	16.4%	15.9%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$80,152	$42,864
Average net price	$40,945	$17,899
Tuition	$59,450	$33,518
Room & board	$16,700	Room/dormitory: $7,070 Meal plan: $4,086
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan Other alternative tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	96.0% Average amount $36,967	99.0% Average amount $26,071
Students receiving federal student loan	38.0% Average amount $5,171	54.0% Average amount $5,583
Students taking out private loans	9.0% Average amount $12,899	6.0% Average amount $14,391

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,708 Men 42.3% Women 57.7%	2,093 Men 41.3% Women 58.7%
Graduate students	6,738 Men 30.2% Women 69.8%	1,339 Men 42.9% Women 57.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	46.9%	4.5%
International students	8.3%	5.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,579	1,560
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 New Mexico Colorado Montana Pennsylvania

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Psychology Legal Profession Education Multidisciplinary Studies	Legal Profession Business Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	13:1	11:1
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%	59.2%
Dropout rate	16.6%	39.9%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
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	Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $55,618 Year 2: $51,458 Year 3: $62,917 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,105 Year 2: $56,931 Year 3: $62,421 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,272 Year 2: $55,512 Year 3: $62,293 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,373 Year 2: $25,967 Year 3: $39,095 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,975 Year 2: $31,133 Year 3: $36,564 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $34,526 Year 3: $35,547 Criminology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,519 Year 2: $31,673 Year 3: $34,251 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,206 Year 2: $28,960 Year 3: $34,018 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $24,035 Year 3: $31,992 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $18,044 Year 2: $26,896 Year 3: $29,126

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St. Mary's University vs Pepperdine

Pepperdine University

St. Mary's University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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