Virginia Military Institute vs Clemson University

Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and Clemson University stand as two distinct institutions of higher learning, each offering unique educational experiences. VMI, a public military college, boasts a rigorous academic curriculum complemented by a strong emphasis on leadership and character development. Clemson University, a public land-grant research university, excels in STEM fields and offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs. While both universities share a commitment to academic excellence, they differ in acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover which institution aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Clemson University	Virginia Military Institute
Overview
Location	Clemson, South Carolina	Lexington, Virginia
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	94.0%	87.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	49.2%	63.9%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $80	$40
SAT range	1220 - 1420	1080 - 1300
ACT range	27 - 32	22 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	40.0%	29.0%
Students submitting ACT score	30.0%	12.0%
Total number of applicants	47,007	1,549
Total number of admissions given out	23,138	990
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,593	461
Yield rate	19.9%	46.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not 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: $34,164 Out of state: $57,156	In state: $33,182 Out of state: $61,836
Average net price	$23,732	$18,100
Tuition	In state: $14,118 Out of state: $37,110	In state: $9,782 Out of state: $38,436
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,808 Meal plan: $4,426	Room/dormitory: $3,102 Meal plan: $7,260
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	81.0% Average amount $9,699	91.0% Average amount $10,832
Students receiving federal student loan	41.0% Average amount $5,281	59.0% Average amount $3,385
Students taking out private loans	9.0% Average amount $21,664	11.0% Average amount $22,604

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	21,653 Men 48.8% Women 51.2%	1,652 Men 86.2% Women 13.8%
Graduate students	5,688 Men 46.8% Women 53.2%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	48.4%	38.2%
International students	4.8%	1.7%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	7,800	1,751
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	South Carolina North Carolina Georgia New Jersey New York	Virginia Pennsylvania Maryland North Carolina New Jersey

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Business Education Health Professions Agriculture	Engineering Social Sciences Psychology Biological and Biomedical Sciences History
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	85.5%	73.7%
Dropout rate	2.3%	4.4%
Transferred out	11.3%	21.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,776 Year 2: $90,762 Year 3: $98,373 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,762 Year 2: $69,079 Year 3: $82,921 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,898 Year 2: $74,262 Year 3: $80,104 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,368 Year 2: $74,721 Year 3: $78,362 Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,182 Year 2: $68,592 Year 3: $76,236 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $69,048 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $76,070 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,632 Year 2: $67,995 Year 3: $74,017 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,398 Year 2: $66,673 Year 3: $73,905 Engineering-Related Fields (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,136 Year 2: $66,206 Year 3: $73,720 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,228 Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $73,643	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,118 Year 2: $41,937 Year 3: $60,559 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,215 Year 2: $44,942 Year 3: $59,186 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,030 Year 2: $49,270 Year 3: $57,955 International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,302 Year 2: $39,305 Year 3: $55,311 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,325 Year 2: $45,094 Year 3: $55,205 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,487 Year 2: $38,649 Year 3: $52,930 Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,025 Year 2: $39,909 Year 3: $52,845 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,712 Year 2: $41,007 Year 3: $43,814 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,367 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,671 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: N/A

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Virginia Military Institute vs Clemson University

Clemson University

Virginia Military Institute

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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