UMass Boston vs Portland State

Nestled in the heart of Boston and Portland, University of Massachusetts-Boston and Portland State University stand as beacons of higher education, each offering a unique blend of academic excellence and vibrant campus life. While both universities share a commitment to providing accessible and affordable education, they differ in several key aspects. UMass-Boston boasts a higher acceptance rate, welcoming a more diverse student body, while PSU offers a wider range of undergraduate programs, including popular majors like business and engineering. With distinct graduation rates and student demographics, these institutions cater to different academic aspirations and personal preferences. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover which university aligns best with your educational goals and personal aspirations.

	Portland State University	University of Massachusetts-Boston
Overview
Location	Portland, Oregon	Boston, Massachusetts
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	76.0%	75.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	98.4%	78.9%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $67	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75
SAT range	1000 - 1250	1060 - 1280
ACT range	17 - 24	24 - 30
Students submitting SAT score	9.0%	21.0%
Students submitting ACT score	8.0%	2.0%
Total number of applicants	6,859	16,383
Total number of admissions given out	6,751	12,926
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,741	2,246
Yield rate	25.8%	17.4%
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: $28,296 Out of state: $47,196	In state: $32,547 Out of state: $53,009
Average net price	$13,015	$17,575
Tuition	In state: $8,685 Out of state: $27,585	In state: $14,187 Out of state: $34,649
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,179 Meal plan: $4,548	Room/dormitory: $12,304 Meal plan: $5,830
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	70.0% Average amount $9,424	94.0% Average amount $11,767
Students receiving federal student loan	40.0% Average amount $4,437	56.0% Average amount $4,888
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $16,901	4.0% Average amount $13,299

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	17,753 Men 43.8% Women 56.2%	12,269 Men 42.0% Women 58.0%
Graduate students	5,105 Men 35.5% Women 64.5%	3,368 Men 33.5% Women 66.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	20.4%	N/A
International students	5.0%	8.0%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,352	1,077
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Oregon California Washington Hawaii Colorado	Connecticut New York New Hampshire New Jersey California

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Engineering Business Public Administration and Social Service Computer and Information Science	Business Health Professions Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	53.8%	49.0%
Dropout rate	18.3%	21.0%
Transferred out	23.4%	25.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,974 Year 2: $95,073 Year 3: $103,264 Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,050 Year 2: $78,971 Year 3: $95,745 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $84,403 Year 2: $86,867 Year 3: $95,669 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,452 Year 2: $80,186 Year 3: $93,529 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,696 Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: $81,800 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,166 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $78,147 Civil Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,319 Year 2: $64,791 Year 3: $73,804 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,670 Year 2: $62,479 Year 3: $72,114 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,109 Year 2: $59,214 Year 3: $67,065 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,483 Year 2: $57,860 Year 3: $65,846	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $112,116 Year 2: $106,814 Year 3: $113,564 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $105,622 Year 2: $99,439 Year 3: $102,552 Educational Administration and Supervision (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $80,281 Year 2: $87,815 Year 3: $90,532 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $75,553 Year 2: $74,200 Year 3: $85,172 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $64,099 Year 2: $72,134 Year 3: $81,557 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,854 Year 2: $71,098 Year 3: $77,768 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,054 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $66,484 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,752 Year 2: $51,551 Year 3: $61,444 Special Education and Teaching (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $59,425 Year 3: $60,766 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $53,984 Year 3: $59,739

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