University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) vs NorthWestern

Nestled in the heartland of America, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and Northwestern University (NU) stand as two distinct beacons of higher education, each offering a unique blend of academic excellence and vibrant campus life. While both institutions share a commitment to providing students with a transformative educational experience, they differ in several key aspects, including acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover the nuances that set these two universities apart and make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Northwestern University	University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Overview
Location	Evanston, Illinois	Lincoln, Nebraska
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	99.0%	80.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	7.0%	81.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $95	Undergraduate: $45 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1470 - 1570	1090 - 1320
ACT range	34 - 35	22 - 28
Students submitting SAT score	43.0%	8.0%
Students submitting ACT score	39.0%	85.0%
Total number of applicants	47,636	17,775
Total number of admissions given out	3,321	14,411
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,086	4,736
Yield rate	62.8%	32.9%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$83,838	In state: $26,316 Out of state: $43,446
Average net price	$29,999	$18,403
Tuition	$60,276	In state: $7,770 Out of state: $24,900
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $11,271 Meal plan: $6,993	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)	57.0% Average amount $51,087	96.0% Average amount $8,608
Students receiving federal student loan	23.0% Average amount $4,625	34.0% Average amount $4,691
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $38,595	5.0% Average amount $13,909

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,847 Men 46.1% Women 53.9%	19,552 Men 50.5% Women 49.5%
Graduate students	14,562 Men 47.3% Women 52.7%	4,879 Men 49.2% Women 50.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	25.7%
International students	17.8%	7.4%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	4,409	6,936
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Nebraska Illinois Minnesota Kansas Iowa

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Communication and Journalism Engineering Health Professions Legal Profession	Engineering Agriculture Education Business Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	6:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	95.2%	66.4%
Dropout rate	4.2%	10.7%
Transferred out	N/A	21.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $150,242 Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $221,242 Business/Commerce, General (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $216,176 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $187,194 Year 2: $170,971 Year 3: $206,288 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $120,709 Year 2: $189,565 Year 3: $194,961 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $162,478 Year 2: $163,561 Year 3: $177,652 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $111,200 Year 2: $157,779 Year 3: $159,304 Engineering, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $140,321 Year 2: $141,586 Year 3: $154,556 Medical Illustration and Informatics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $88,288 Year 2: $118,465 Year 3: $132,325 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $118,780 Year 2: $111,323 Year 3: $130,124 Community Organization and Advocacy (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $115,760 Year 2: $113,668 Year 3: $128,046	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

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