Washburn U vs Northern Illinois University (NIU)

Washburn University and Northern Illinois University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Washburn, a private university in Topeka, Kansas, boasts a smaller student body and a higher acceptance rate compared to Northern Illinois University, a public university located in DeKalb, Illinois. While Washburn excels in liberal arts and sciences, Northern Illinois University offers a wider range of undergraduate and graduate programs, including engineering, business, and nursing. Explore the detailed comparison table to delve into further differences, such as student demographics, graduation rates, and popular majors, to determine which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Northern Illinois University	Washburn University
Overview
Location	Dekalb, Illinois	Topeka, Kansas
Campus setting	Suburb: Small	City: Midsize
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	67.0%	66.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	70.4%	Open Admission
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $60	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $40
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	22,602
Total number of admissions given out	15,922
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,285
Yield rate	14.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A
High school GPA	Required	N/A
Recommendation letters	Not required	N/A
High school transcript	Required	N/A
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	N/A

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$27,218	In state: $23,895 Out of state: $34,899
Average net price	$13,265	$14,617
Tuition	$9,606	In state: $8,762 Out of state: $19,766
Room & board	$11,098	Room/dormitory: $5,625 Meal plan: $4,090
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $13,008	94.0% Average amount $6,254
Students receiving federal student loan	58.0% Average amount $5,313	44.0% Average amount $5,166
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $11,726	5.0% Average amount $10,179

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	11,834 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	4,828 Men 37.3% Women 62.7%
Graduate students	4,400 Men 40.8% Women 59.2%	829 Men 33.4% Women 66.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	3.0%
International students	4.6%	3.0%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	4,500	1,004
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Kansas Georgia Iowa Florida Arizona

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Engineering Computer and Information Science	Health Professions Legal Profession Liberal Arts Business Law Enforcement and Firefighting
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	50.8%	51.4%
Dropout rate	46.9%	24.7%
Transferred out	N/A	20.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $118,716 Year 2: $98,186 Year 3: $125,726 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,047 Year 2: $88,920 Year 3: $96,563 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,161 Year 2: $91,587 Year 3: $94,214 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,013 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $76,350 Computer Science (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,606 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $75,980 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,752 Year 2: $64,150 Year 3: $74,168 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,234 Year 2: $66,989 Year 3: $74,151 Psychology, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $57,535 Year 2: $68,499 Year 3: $73,940 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $70,453 Year 2: $69,151 Year 3: $72,792 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $63,291 Year 2: $63,685 Year 3: $72,760	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,212 Year 2: $99,069 Year 3: $105,785 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $50,713 Year 2: $56,776 Year 3: $59,264 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $48,996 Year 2: $52,542 Year 3: $57,844 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,332 Year 2: $54,812 Year 3: $57,071 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,896 Year 2: $44,595 Year 3: $54,443 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $46,833 Year 2: $50,270 Year 3: $53,824 Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $43,016 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $53,722 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,602 Year 2: $50,856 Year 3: $53,311 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,645 Year 2: $46,790 Year 3: $50,604 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,551 Year 2: $45,128 Year 3: $50,230

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Washburn U vs Northern Illinois University (NIU)

Northern Illinois University

Washburn University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

Compare Similar Colleges

Find Colleges By State

Resources

About