USJ-West Hartford vs Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU)

When it comes to higher education, University of Saint Joseph (USJ) and Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) stand out as two distinct institutions with unique offerings. USJ, a private Catholic university, boasts a smaller student body and a more selective admissions process, with an acceptance rate of 75%. SCSU, on the other hand, is a public university with a larger and more diverse student population, reflected in its higher acceptance rate of 85%. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, with popular majors including Business, Education, and Health Sciences at USJ, and Business, Education, and Social Sciences at SCSU. While USJ has a higher graduation rate of 70%, SCSU offers more affordable tuition and a greater variety of student life activities. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic and personal goals.

	Southern Connecticut State University	University of Saint Joseph
Overview
Location	New Haven, Connecticut	West Hartford, Connecticut
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	72.0%	77.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	82.9%	78.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	1036 - 1181
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score		16.0%
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	7,294	1,338
Total number of admissions given out	6,049	1,047
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,022	186
Yield rate	16.9%	17.8%
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: $26,686 Out of state: $40,090	$59,044
Average net price	$18,493	$26,328
Tuition	In state: $6,162 Out of state: $18,436	$40,826
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,438 Meal plan: $6,228	Room/dormitory: $7,172 Meal plan: $5,560
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	94.0% Average amount $6,478	100.0% Average amount $26,100
Students receiving federal student loan	68.0% Average amount $5,267	75.0% Average amount $5,268
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $12,508	19.0% Average amount $16,880

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	6,800 Men 37.5% Women 62.5%	906 Men 22.8% Women 77.2%
Graduate students	1,988 Men 24.7% Women 75.3%	1,226 Men 18.1% Women 81.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	9.4%	7.6%
International students	1.1%	1.0%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,509	384
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Connecticut New York Mississippi New Jersey Georgia	Connecticut Mississippi New Jersey New York Rhode Island

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Psychology Public Administration and Social Service	Health Professions Education Public Administration and Social Service Biological and Biomedical Sciences Psychology
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	52.3%	56.4%
Dropout rate	14.7%	9.9%
Transferred out	30.6%	32.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Educational Administration and Supervision (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $73,779 Year 2: $75,072 Year 3: $81,441 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,460 Year 2: $71,015 Year 3: $74,943 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $63,714 Year 2: $64,706 Year 3: $73,822 Public Health (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,286 Year 2: $53,358 Year 3: $62,933 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,930 Year 2: $58,221 Year 3: $60,874 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,046 Year 2: $56,415 Year 3: $55,879 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $57,138 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $55,763 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,671 Year 2: $50,263 Year 3: $54,461 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $53,125 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,635 Year 2: $54,032 Year 3: $52,600	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $103,231 Year 2: $121,072 Year 3: $124,172 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,302 Year 2: $98,974 Year 3: $109,012 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,150 Year 2: $70,705 Year 3: $71,578 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,231 Year 2: $51,899 Year 3: $60,033 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,612 Year 2: $58,582 Year 3: $59,982 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $58,028 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,419 Year 2: $54,676 Year 3: $57,591 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,190 Year 2: $44,021 Year 3: $52,110 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $48,432 Year 3: $47,172 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: $36,287

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