University of Maryland-College Park (UMD) vs George Mason University (GMU)

When it comes to higher education in Maryland, two prominent universities that often draw comparisons are the University of Maryland-College Park (UMD) and George Mason University (GMU). While both offer a wide range of academic programs and opportunities, there are some key differences between the two institutions. UMD boasts a higher acceptance rate and a larger student body, while GMU has a more diverse student population and a higher graduation rate. Additionally, UMD is known for its strong engineering and computer science programs, while GMU excels in business and public policy. To help you make an informed decision about which university is the right fit for you, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into these differences in greater detail.

	George Mason University	University of Maryland-College Park
Overview
Location	Fairfax, Virginia	College Park, Maryland
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	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	84.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	91.3%	52.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $75
SAT range	1140 - 1350	1330 - 1510
ACT range	25 - 30	30 - 34
Students submitting SAT score	37.0%	34.0%
Students submitting ACT score	3.0%	9.0%
Total number of applicants	20,527	50,183
Total number of admissions given out	18,741	26,109
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,986	6,072
Yield rate	21.3%	23.3%
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	In state: $35,263 Out of state: $58,723	In state: $30,997 Out of state: $58,678
Average net price	$18,841	$17,146
Tuition	In state: $9,510 Out of state: $32,970	In state: $9,000 Out of state: $36,681
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,620 Meal plan: $5,010	Room/dormitory: $8,072 Meal plan: $5,578
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	70.0% Average amount $10,110	56.0% Average amount $10,645
Students receiving federal student loan	43.0% Average amount $5,006	20.0% Average amount $5,065
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $18,474	4.0% Average amount $22,924

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	26,882 Men 50.4% Women 49.6%	30,922 Men 50.8% Women 49.2%
Graduate students	11,746 Men 40.7% Women 59.3%	10,350 Men 50.7% Women 49.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	18.9%	29.5%
International students	8.0%	10.3%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	6,513	11,846
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Virginia Maryland District of Columbia Pennsylvania New York	Maryland New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Virginia

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Computer and Information Science Engineering	Engineering Business Education Computer and Information Science Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	18:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	70.1%	87.7%
Dropout rate	9.6%	4.0%
Transferred out	16.5%	7.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,837 Year 2: $109,763 Year 3: $127,586 Homeland Security (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,476 Year 2: $127,993 Year 3: $120,573 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,886 Year 2: $99,709 Year 3: $117,377 Computer Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $112,424 Year 2: $101,072 Year 3: $115,693 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $98,841 Year 2: $105,585 Year 3: $113,896 Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $121,226 Year 2: $92,632 Year 3: $105,664 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $101,843 Year 2: $100,690 Year 3: $101,702 Medical Illustration and Informatics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,386 Year 2: $84,653 Year 3: $101,604 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,911 Year 2: $91,448 Year 3: $99,722 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $94,065 Year 2: $92,277 Year 3: $94,785	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,765 Year 2: $106,102 Year 3: $116,295 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $125,155 Year 2: $112,923 Year 3: $112,074 Engineering, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,533 Year 2: $94,112 Year 3: $102,555 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $93,018 Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $101,716 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $84,727 Year 2: $84,653 Year 3: $99,501 Physics (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $72,899 Year 3: $92,830 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $88,418 Year 2: $80,466 Year 3: $92,230 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,675 Year 2: $72,762 Year 3: $83,667 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,798 Year 2: $71,761 Year 3: $82,867 Information Science/Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,391 Year 2: $66,485 Year 3: $82,784

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