SUNY Albany vs University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMass)

SUNY at Albany and University of Massachusetts-Amherst, both esteemed public universities, offer distinct academic experiences and vibrant campus life. SUNY at Albany boasts a higher acceptance rate, making it a more accessible option for prospective students. UMass-Amherst, on the other hand, has a slightly higher graduation rate, indicating a strong commitment to student success. While both universities offer a diverse range of majors, SUNY at Albany excels in social sciences and public administration, while UMass-Amherst shines in engineering and computer science. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further differences, including student body demographics, cost of attendance, and notable alumni, to determine which university best aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	SUNY at Albany	University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Overview
Location	Albany, New York	Amherst, Massachusetts
Campus setting	City: Small	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	82.0%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	68.0%	65.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $85 Graduate: $85
SAT range	1090 - 1280	1250 - 1460
ACT range	22 - 29	28 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	15.0%	26.0%
Students submitting ACT score	2.0%	5.0%
Total number of applicants	21,265	42,540
Total number of admissions given out	14,458	27,877
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,030	4,872
Yield rate	21.0%	17.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $26,578 Out of state: $44,418	In state: $32,434 Out of state: $52,959
Average net price	$17,350	$17,291
Tuition	In state: $7,070 Out of state: $24,910	In state: $15,791 Out of state: $36,316
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,558 Meal plan: $5,495	Room/dormitory: $7,611 Meal plan: $5,984
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	84.0% Average amount $10,460	86.0% Average amount $10,662
Students receiving federal student loan	54.0% Average amount $5,299	39.0% Average amount $5,123
Students taking out private loans	8.0% Average amount $13,629	7.0% Average amount $15,924

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	12,654 Men 46.4% Women 53.6%	24,231 Men 48.8% Women 51.2%
Graduate students	4,421 Men 35.0% Women 65.0%	7,814 Men 47.9% Women 52.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	4.4%	N/A
International students	6.6%	11.1%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	6,867	13,582
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York New Jersey Pennsylvania Connecticut Maryland	New York New Jersey Connecticut California New Hampshire

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Public Administration and Social Service Health Professions Social Sciences	Business Engineering Health Professions Multidisciplinary Studies Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	18:1	18:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	66.3%	83.7%
Dropout rate	8.5%	5.1%
Transferred out	24.4%	10.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Taxation (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $70,203 Year 2: $74,307 Year 3: $95,473 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $63,947 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $92,782 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $62,191 Year 2: $60,256 Year 3: $75,996 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,841 Year 2: $49,962 Year 3: $69,785 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,012 Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $63,462 Public Health (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,175 Year 2: $49,270 Year 3: $61,387 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,902 Year 2: $40,510 Year 3: $58,543 Curriculum and Instruction (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,701 Year 2: $52,733 Year 3: $55,488 Information Science/Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $52,904 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,404 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $52,601	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $112,236 Year 2: $99,741 Year 3: $118,959 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $97,497 Year 2: $97,071 Year 3: $105,578 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $79,216 Year 2: $78,232 Year 3: $95,030 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,683 Year 2: $75,518 Year 3: $94,055 Education, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $71,391 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $79,970 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $65,906 Year 2: $67,202 Year 3: $79,007 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,222 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $76,636 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,607 Year 2: $68,647 Year 3: $74,913 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,719 Year 2: $65,594 Year 3: $74,578 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,571 Year 2: $63,646 Year 3: $73,746

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.