University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) vs North Dakota State University-Main Campus (NDSU)

Nestled in the heart of the Midwest, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and North Dakota State University-Main Campus (NDSU) stand as two prominent institutions of higher learning, each offering a unique educational experience. While both universities share a commitment to academic excellence, they differ in several key aspects, including acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. This side-by-side comparison delves into these differences, providing valuable insights for prospective students seeking the best fit for their academic and personal aspirations. Explore the comprehensive table below to discover which university aligns better with your goals and preferences, considering factors such as admissions competitiveness, program offerings, campus culture, and post-graduate outcomes.
North Dakota State University-Main Campus logo

North Dakota State University-Main Campus

University of Nebraska-Lincoln logo

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Overview

Location Fargo, North Dakota Lincoln, Nebraska
Campus setting City: Midsize City: 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 76.0% 80.0%
Common app member No Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission

Acceptance rate 95.5% 81.1%
Application fees
Undergraduate: $35

Graduate: $35
Undergraduate: $45

Graduate: $50
SAT range 1096 - 1313 1090 - 1320
ACT range 20 - 26 22 - 28
Students submitting SAT score 1.0% 8.0%
Students submitting ACT score 63.0% 85.0%
Total number of applicants 8,143 17,775
Total number of admissions given out 7,773 14,411
Admitted students who chose to enroll 2,491 4,736
Yield rate 32.0% 32.9%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Required Not required
Recommendation letters Not required Not required
High school transcript Not required Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL) Not required Not required

Tuition and Fees

Sticker price
In state: $23,879

Out of state: $28,354
In state: $26,316

Out of state: $43,446
Average net price $16,677 $18,403
Tuition
In state: $8,951

Out of state: $13,426
In state: $7,770

Out of state: $24,900
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $4,100

Meal plan: $4,778
Room/dormitory: $7,485

Meal plan: $4,653
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

91.0%
Average amount $4,089
96.0%
Average amount $8,608
Students receiving federal student loan 60.0%
Average amount $5,226
34.0%
Average amount $4,691
Students taking out private loans 28.0%
Average amount $11,868
5.0%
Average amount $13,909

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 10,199
Men 49.8% Women 50.2%
19,552
Men 50.5% Women 49.5%
Graduate students 2,262
Men 47.4% Women 52.6%
4,879
Men 49.2% Women 50.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Very Low
Very Low
Out-of-state students 64.0% 25.7%
International students 5.5% 7.4%
Campus local/setting City: Midsize City: Large
Dormitory capacity 5,563 6,936
First year students are required to live on campus? No No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from Minnesota North Dakota Wisconsin South Dakota California Nebraska Illinois Minnesota Kansas Iowa

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Health Professions
  • Engineering
  • Education
  • Business
  • Agriculture
  • Engineering
  • Agriculture
  • Education
  • Business
  • Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio 18:1 16:1
Institutional accreditation Higher Learning Commission Higher Learning Commission

Outcome

Graduation rate 64.9% 66.4%
Dropout rate 10.7% 10.7%
Transferred out 22.3% 21.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $112,561
  • Year 2: $117,751
  • Year 3: $125,733
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees)
  • Year 1: $98,645
  • Year 2: $101,072
  • Year 3: $116,073
Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $72,828
  • Year 3: $93,292
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $69,521
  • Year 2: $66,401
  • Year 3: $74,017
Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $61,785
  • Year 2: $64,865
  • Year 3: $72,508
Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $64,224
  • Year 2: $65,409
  • Year 3: $72,103
Agricultural Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $59,019
  • Year 2: $67,660
  • Year 3: $69,536
Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $62,818
  • Year 2: $59,576
  • Year 3: $68,476
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $67,258
  • Year 2: $58,673
  • Year 3: $68,399
Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $59,793
  • Year 2: $58,866
  • Year 3: $67,481
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $91,695
  • Year 2: $91,017
  • Year 3: $102,607
Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees)
  • Year 1: $74,888
  • Year 2: $78,134
  • Year 3: $86,893
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $63,533
  • Year 2: $64,493
  • Year 3: $86,584
Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $69,494
  • Year 2: $68,918
  • Year 3: $78,265
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $67,969
  • Year 2: $70,680
  • Year 3: $75,873
Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $76,040
  • Year 2: $71,015
  • Year 3: $74,823
Education, Other (Doctoral Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $72,325
  • Year 3: $73,798
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Doctoral Degrees)
  • Year 1: $61,124
  • Year 2: $58,402
  • Year 3: $73,111
Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $63,572
  • Year 2: $66,168
  • Year 3: $72,183
Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $63,299
  • Year 2: $66,821
  • Year 3: $71,063

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.
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs Auburn University Auburn University
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs University of Alaska Fairbanks University of Alaska Fairbanks
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs Idaho State University Idaho State University
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs University of Idaho University of Idaho
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs University of Louisiana at Lafayette University of Louisiana at Lafayette
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs University of Maine University of Maine
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs Montana State University Montana State University
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs University of Nevada-Reno University of Nevada-Reno
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs CUNY Graduate School and University Center CUNY Graduate School and University Center
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs Rasmussen University-North Dakota Rasmussen University-North Dakota
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs University of Mary University of Mary
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs University of North Dakota University of North Dakota
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs South Dakota State University South Dakota State University
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs Texas State University Texas State University
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs Central Washington University Central Washington University
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University
North Dakota State University-Main Campus NDSU vs Western Washington University Western Washington University
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs University of Arizona University of Arizona
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs University of Arkansas University of Arkansas
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs University of California-Berkeley University of California-Berkeley
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs University of California-Davis University of California-Davis
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs Colorado State University-Fort Collins Colorado State University-Fort Collins
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs Florida State University Florida State University
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs University of Idaho University of Idaho
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs Northwestern University Northwestern University
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs Iowa State University Iowa State University
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs University of Kansas University of Kansas
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs University of Maryland-College Park University of Maryland-College Park
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs Harvard University Harvard University
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs Michigan State University Michigan State University
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs University of Nevada-Reno University of Nevada-Reno
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs Rutgers University-New Brunswick Rutgers University-New Brunswick
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs CUNY Graduate School and University Center CUNY Graduate School and University Center
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs Binghamton University Binghamton University
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs Duke University Duke University
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs University of North Dakota University of North Dakota
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs North Dakota State University-Main Campus North Dakota State University-Main Campus
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Oklahoma State University-Main Campus
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs South Dakota State University South Dakota State University
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs The University of Tennessee-Knoxville The University of Tennessee-Knoxville
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs The University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs Texas Tech University Texas Tech University
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs Brigham Young University Brigham Young University
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs Utah State University Utah State University
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs George Mason University George Mason University
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs Washington State University Washington State University
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs University of Wisconsin-Madison University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs University of Wyoming University of Wyoming
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs Stanford University Stanford University
University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL vs The Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University