UW-Madison vs University of Nevada-Reno (UNR)

Nestled in the heart of the Midwest, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and nestled in the vibrant city of Reno, University of Nevada-Reno stand as two distinct academic powerhouses. While both institutions share a commitment to academic excellence, they offer unique experiences shaped by their diverse locations, student demographics, and academic strengths. With acceptance rates of 52% and 85%, respectively, UW-Madison and UNR cater to different levels of selectivity. UW-Madison boasts a larger student body, with over 40,000 undergraduates, while UNR maintains a more intimate learning environment with approximately 10,000 undergraduates. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details, including popular majors, graduation rates, and additional factors that set these two universities apart, helping you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	University of Nevada-Reno	University of Wisconsin-Madison
Overview
Location	Reno, Nevada	Madison, Wisconsin
Campus setting	City: Large	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	78.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.2%	60.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $60	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75
SAT range	1060 - 1270	1320 - 1500
ACT range	20 - 26	26 - 32
Students submitting SAT score	12.0%	15.0%
Students submitting ACT score	60.0%	55.0%
Total number of applicants	9,421	53,781
Total number of admissions given out	8,306	32,459
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,412	8,465
Yield rate	41.1%	26.1%
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: $26,796 Out of state: $42,888	In state: $27,418 Out of state: $55,306
Average net price	$16,398	$13,484
Tuition	In state: $7,470 Out of state: $23,562	In state: $9,273 Out of state: $37,161
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,850 Meal plan: $5,792	Room/dormitory: $7,367 Meal plan: $4,100
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	86.0% Average amount $7,232	54.0% Average amount $10,932
Students receiving federal student loan	29.0% Average amount $5,001	26.0% Average amount $5,175
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $12,013	6.0% Average amount $16,550

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	17,025 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	34,561 Men 47.5% Women 52.5%
Graduate students	4,009 Men 39.3% Women 60.7%	12,455 Men 46.6% Women 53.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	26.1%	50.6%
International students	2.8%	13.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	3,524	9,226
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	Wisconsin Illinois Minnesota California New York

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

Outcome
Graduation rate	62.7%	89.2%
Dropout rate	34.1%	10.0%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
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	Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $107,256 Year 3: $131,458 Marketing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $113,083 Year 2: $111,992 Year 3: $130,357 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $112,390 Year 2: $113,091 Year 3: $124,360 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $96,320 Year 2: $117,042 Year 3: $123,777 Engineering, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $110,338 Year 2: $106,421 Year 3: $111,424 Real Estate (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $115,339 Year 3: $104,219 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $115,387 Year 2: $100,213 Year 3: $103,937 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $78,839 Year 2: $81,997 Year 3: $97,306 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $85,538 Year 3: $94,093 Real Estate (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,730 Year 2: $73,949 Year 3: $91,306

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