University of San Diego vs Whitman College

Nestled in the vibrant city of San Diego, California, the University of San Diego (USD) stands as a private Catholic research university, while Whitman College, located in the picturesque town of Walla Walla, Washington, is a private liberal arts college. With acceptance rates of 55% and 73%, respectively, both institutions offer selective admissions. USD boasts a diverse student body, with 44% of undergraduates identifying as students of color, while Whitman's student body is predominantly White, at 78%. While USD offers a wide range of undergraduate programs, including popular majors like business, engineering, and nursing, Whitman focuses on the liberal arts, with popular majors in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. With graduation rates of 84% and 82%, both USD and Whitman ensure that their students receive a high-quality education that prepares them for successful careers. To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we have compiled a comprehensive

	University of San Diego	Whitman College
Overview
Location	San Diego, California	Walla Walla, Washington
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	4-1-4	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	92.0%	89.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	52.7%	59.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $55 Graduate: $45	$50
SAT range	N/A	1295 - 1455
ACT range	N/A	29 - 33
Students submitting SAT score		21.0%
Students submitting ACT score		19.0%
Total number of applicants	14,326	5,155
Total number of admissions given out	7,550	3,039
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,166	477
Yield rate	15.4%	15.7%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$75,982	$71,982
Average net price	$34,155	$35,627
Tuition	$52,120	$55,560
Room & board	$16,246	Room/dormitory: $6,080 Meal plan: $7,720
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	82.0% Average amount $34,413	91.0% Average amount $30,781
Students receiving federal student loan	33.0% Average amount $5,216	42.0% Average amount $4,853
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $12,155	2.0% Average amount $14,105

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	5,702 Men 43.9% Women 56.1%	1,559 Men 43.9% Women 56.1%
Graduate students	3,339 Men 42.4% Women 57.6%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	45.5%	65.0%
International students	6.2%	10.2%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	2,484	886
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Washington Colorado Arizona Nevada	Washington California Oregon Colorado Minnesota

Academics
Popular study areas	Legal Profession Business Education Health Professions Law Enforcement and Firefighting	Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Visual & Performing Arts English Language and Literature Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	13:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	80.0%	88.7%
Dropout rate	19.5%	1.6%
Transferred out	N/A	8.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $114,672 Year 2: $117,572 Year 3: $115,744 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,123 Year 2: $89,672 Year 3: $102,690 Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,786 Year 2: $84,653 Year 3: $98,598 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,329 Year 2: $91,744 Year 3: $93,985 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $71,367 Year 2: $73,391 Year 3: $92,346 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,417 Year 2: $75,706 Year 3: $84,924 Real Estate (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,970 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $84,277 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,809 Year 2: $61,962 Year 3: $75,083 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,424 Year 2: $67,324 Year 3: $72,729 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,434 Year 2: $61,069 Year 3: $72,310	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,596 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $64,407 Visual and Performing Arts, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: $43,330 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,051 Year 2: $22,999 Year 3: $41,844 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,549 Year 2: $27,584 Year 3: $39,355 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $18,868 Year 3: N/A Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,472 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: N/A Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: N/A Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A

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