Washington State University (WSU) vs South Dakota State University (SDSU)

Washington State University and South Dakota State University, both public research universities, offer distinct educational experiences. WSU, located in Pullman, Washington, boasts a higher acceptance rate (73%) compared to SDSU's 88%. WSU's student body is more diverse, with international students comprising 13% of the population, while SDSU's international student population is 2%. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors at WSU including business, engineering, and social sciences, while SDSU excels in agriculture, nursing, and education. WSU has a slightly higher graduation rate (68%) than SDSU (66%). Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	South Dakota State University	Washington State University
Overview
Location	Brookings, South Dakota	Pullman, Washington
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Town: Distant
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	80.0%	81.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	87.4%	85.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $35	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $75
SAT range	980 - 1220	N/A
ACT range	19 - 25	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	3.0%
Students submitting ACT score	86.0%
Total number of applicants	5,774	18,197
Total number of admissions given out	5,048	15,607
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,019	4,007
Yield rate	40.0%	25.7%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $24,304 Out of state: $27,814	In state: $28,767 Out of state: $44,083
Average net price	$17,859	$11,877
Tuition	In state: $7,773 Out of state: $11,283	In state: $10,457 Out of state: $25,773
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,054 Meal plan: $4,082	Room/dormitory: $7,400 Meal plan: $4,350
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	81.0% Average amount $4,747	86.0% Average amount $9,993
Students receiving federal student loan	60.0% Average amount $5,063	27.0% Average amount $5,042
Students taking out private loans	17.0% Average amount $9,956	3.0% Average amount $15,454

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,847 Men 45.2% Women 54.8%	24,278 Men 45.9% Women 54.1%
Graduate students	1,618 Men 37.3% Women 62.7%	5,565 Men 44.7% Women 55.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	15.2%
International students	5.1%	5.7%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	4,488	7,043
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Washington California Oregon Idaho Hawaii

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Engineering Family and Consumer Sciences Education Agriculture	Business Engineering Social Sciences Health Professions Education
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	59.5%	59.5%
Dropout rate	38.9%	38.1%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $110,688 Year 2: $117,014 Year 3: $126,250 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $92,277 Year 3: $114,802 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,967 Year 2: $74,845 Year 3: $81,032 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,229 Year 2: $61,322 Year 3: $70,114 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,268 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $62,932 Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,985 Year 2: $56,234 Year 3: $61,104 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,372 Year 2: $57,860 Year 3: $60,463 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,551 Year 2: $56,776 Year 3: $59,988 Plant Sciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,213 Year 2: $55,151 Year 3: $55,715 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $54,439	Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $135,393 Year 3: $143,888 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $110,911 Year 2: $123,178 Year 3: $127,531 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,080 Year 2: $100,915 Year 3: $120,737 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $111,957 Year 2: $112,073 Year 3: $119,910 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $106,275 Year 2: $105,813 Year 3: $117,478 Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $82,971 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $96,760 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $76,468 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $88,746 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $80,693 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $81,535 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,112 Year 2: $68,808 Year 3: $80,939 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,531 Year 2: $72,881 Year 3: $79,650

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