Susquehanna University vs Messiah University

Susquehanna University and Messiah University, both located in Pennsylvania, offer distinct educational experiences for prospective students. Susquehanna, a private liberal arts university, boasts a higher acceptance rate (78%) compared to Messiah's 69%. Messiah, a private Christian university, stands out for its strong undergraduate focus, while Susquehanna offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. While both universities offer a diverse range of majors, Messiah is known for its strengths in nursing, business, and education, while Susquehanna excels in the liberal arts, sciences, and business. Explore the detailed comparison table to delve into further differences, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and additional details that can help you make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Messiah University	Susquehanna University
Overview
Location	Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania	Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Distant
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	85.0%	87.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Interdenominational	Evangelical

Admission
Acceptance rate	77.4%	76.6%
Application fees	$50
SAT range	1100 - 1340	N/A
ACT range	23 - 31	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	57.0%
Students submitting ACT score	11.0%
Total number of applicants	2,458	5,384
Total number of admissions given out	1,902	4,126
Admitted students who chose to enroll	551	555
Yield rate	29.0%	13.5%
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	$54,340	$70,800
Average net price	$23,895	$28,130
Tuition	$37,430	$52,380
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,970 Meal plan: $5,250	Room/dormitory: $7,680 Meal plan: $6,670
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $26,620	96.0% Average amount $38,565
Students receiving federal student loan	65.0% Average amount $5,510	69.0% Average amount $5,424
Students taking out private loans	24.0% Average amount $11,228	20.0% Average amount $15,830

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,495 Men 39.0% Women 61.0%	2,197 Men 43.7% Women 56.3%
Graduate students	781 Men 28.6% Women 71.4%	5 Men 0.0% Women 100.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	34.6%	N/A
International students	2.8%	1.2%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	2,403	2,088
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Pennsylvania Maryland New Jersey New York Delaware	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Business Visual & Performing Arts Engineering	Business Communication and Journalism Biological and Biomedical Sciences Education Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	77.0%	74.3%
Dropout rate	4.8%	25.5%
Transferred out	18.3%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,515 Year 2: $60,623 Year 3: $64,027 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,062 Year 2: $53,608 Year 3: $62,810 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,117 Year 2: $62,546 Year 3: $62,631 Music (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,416 Year 2: $55,693 Year 3: $56,809 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,254 Year 2: $49,214 Year 3: $53,924 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $32,970 Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: $47,853 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,875 Year 2: $37,054 Year 3: $47,113 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,733 Year 2: $40,621 Year 3: $45,156 Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $43,616 Year 2: $39,523 Year 3: $44,488 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,316 Year 2: $35,594 Year 3: $41,855	Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,280 Year 2: $58,221 Year 3: $65,753 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,032 Year 2: $47,846 Year 3: $62,846 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,954 Year 2: $46,478 Year 3: $59,114 Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $48,172 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,616 Year 2: $37,424 Year 3: $43,781 Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,056 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $41,344 Radio, Television, and Digital Communication (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $22,192 Year 3: $36,709 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,088 Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: $28,686 Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $18,654 Year 2: $23,538 Year 3: $28,559 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,898 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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