University of Nevada-Reno (UNR) vs West Virginia University (WVU)

Nestled in the heart of the Sierra Nevada mountains, the University of Nevada-Reno (UNR) stands in stark contrast to the rolling hills of West Virginia University (WVU) in Morgantown. With acceptance rates of 84% and 86%, respectively, both universities welcome a diverse student body, though UNR boasts a slightly larger undergraduate population. While UNR excels in engineering, nursing, and business, WVU shines in health professions, education, and social work. UNR's graduation rate of 59% outpaces WVU's 55%, but both universities offer a vibrant campus life and strong alumni networks. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover which institution better aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	University of Nevada-Reno	West Virginia University
Overview
Location	Reno, Nevada	Morgantown, West Virginia
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Small
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	78.0%	81.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.2%	89.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $60	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $60
SAT range	1060 - 1270	1030 - 1230
ACT range	20 - 26	21 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	12.0%	57.0%
Students submitting ACT score	60.0%	38.0%
Total number of applicants	9,421	17,074
Total number of admissions given out	8,306	15,336
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,412	4,313
Yield rate	41.1%	28.1%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $26,796 Out of state: $42,888	In state: $21,756 Out of state: $38,100
Average net price	$16,398	$13,422
Tuition	In state: $7,470 Out of state: $23,562	In state: $8,976 Out of state: $25,320
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,850 Meal plan: $5,792	Room/dormitory: $6,184 Meal plan: $5,504
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	86.0% Average amount $7,232	89.0% Average amount $10,867
Students receiving federal student loan	29.0% Average amount $5,001	52.0% Average amount $5,294
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $12,013	15.0% Average amount $16,332

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	17,025 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	19,599 Men 47.9% Women 52.1%
Graduate students	4,009 Men 39.3% Women 60.7%	5,875 Men 44.4% Women 55.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Very Low
Out-of-state students	26.1%	55.3%
International students	2.8%	5.3%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	3,524	6,956
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Nevada California Hawaii Oregon Washington	West Virginia Pennsylvania Virginia Maryland Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Public Administration and Social Service Social Sciences	Health Professions Business Engineering Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	18:1
Institutional accreditation	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	62.7%	63.9%
Dropout rate	34.1%	11.3%
Transferred out	N/A	22.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,016 Year 2: $104,192 Year 3: $106,685 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $79,284 Year 3: $89,037 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $79,780 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $86,482 Mining and Mineral Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $82,783 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,402 Year 2: $67,473 Year 3: $78,990 Civil Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $60,203 Year 2: $66,169 Year 3: $77,729 Psychology, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $57,770 Year 3: $75,701 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,757 Year 2: $69,161 Year 3: $74,927 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,629 Year 2: $67,324 Year 3: $73,298 Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $56,591 Year 2: $57,995 Year 3: $71,617	Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $112,323 Year 2: $125,015 Year 3: $143,709 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $103,140 Year 2: $118,155 Year 3: $119,358 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $93,573 Year 2: $94,763 Year 3: $96,536 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $77,732 Year 2: $81,997 Year 3: $91,425 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,711 Year 2: $81,333 Year 3: $82,001 Petroleum Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,468 Year 2: $61,303 Year 3: $79,782 Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,292 Year 2: $68,047 Year 3: $77,798 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,506 Year 2: $62,012 Year 3: $77,273 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,040 Year 2: $65,238 Year 3: $76,205 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,477 Year 2: $66,069 Year 3: $76,022

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