West Virginia University (WVU) vs Western Michigan University (WMU)

West Virginia University (WVU) and Western Michigan University (WMU) are two public research universities with distinct characteristics. WVU, located in Morgantown, West Virginia, has a higher acceptance rate (84%) compared to WMU's 79%. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors including business, engineering, and health sciences. WVU boasts a larger student body, with over 29,000 students enrolled, while WMU has a more compact student population of around 22,000. In terms of graduation rates, WVU has a slightly higher four-year graduation rate (58%) than WMU's 56%. To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into these aspects and more. Explore the table to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	West Virginia University	Western Michigan University
Overview
Location	Morgantown, West Virginia	Kalamazoo, Michigan
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Small
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	81.0%	77.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	89.8%	82.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $60	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1030 - 1230	1000 - 1220
ACT range	21 - 27	21 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	57.0%	37.0%
Students submitting ACT score	38.0%	7.0%
Total number of applicants	17,074	18,853
Total number of admissions given out	15,336	15,612
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,313	2,112
Yield rate	28.1%	13.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $21,756 Out of state: $38,100	In state: $27,947 Out of state: $31,281
Average net price	$13,422	$19,749
Tuition	In state: $8,976 Out of state: $25,320	In state: $13,334 Out of state: $16,668
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,184 Meal plan: $5,504	$10,884
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan Other alternative tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	89.0% Average amount $10,867	95.0% Average amount $6,352
Students receiving federal student loan	52.0% Average amount $5,294	49.0% Average amount $5,188
Students taking out private loans	15.0% Average amount $16,332	10.0% Average amount $15,132

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	19,599 Men 47.9% Women 52.1%	14,587 Men 50.1% Women 49.9%
Graduate students	5,875 Men 44.4% Women 55.6%	3,679 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	55.3%	23.8%
International students	5.3%	7.3%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	6,956	5,130
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	West Virginia Pennsylvania Virginia Maryland Ohio	Michigan Illinois Indiana Wisconsin Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Engineering Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Health Professions Education Engineering Business Multidisciplinary Studies
Students to faculty ratio	18:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	63.9%	56.3%
Dropout rate	11.3%	14.6%
Transferred out	22.5%	25.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $112,323 Year 2: $125,015 Year 3: $143,709 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $103,140 Year 2: $118,155 Year 3: $119,358 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $93,573 Year 2: $94,763 Year 3: $96,536 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $77,732 Year 2: $81,997 Year 3: $91,425 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,711 Year 2: $81,333 Year 3: $82,001 Petroleum Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,468 Year 2: $61,303 Year 3: $79,782 Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,292 Year 2: $68,047 Year 3: $77,798 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,506 Year 2: $62,012 Year 3: $77,273 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,040 Year 2: $65,238 Year 3: $76,205 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,477 Year 2: $66,069 Year 3: $76,022	Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $102,212 Year 2: $103,274 Year 3: $105,179 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $77,392 Year 2: $73,801 Year 3: $88,332 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $84,653 Year 3: $87,977 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,143 Year 2: $65,945 Year 3: $79,982 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $69,346 Year 2: $70,456 Year 3: $77,922 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,069 Year 2: $73,562 Year 3: $77,263 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,557 Year 2: $70,776 Year 3: $75,447 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,559 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $73,968 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,118 Year 2: $63,749 Year 3: $72,465 Engineering-Related Fields (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,803 Year 2: $59,576 Year 3: $69,288

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.

West Virginia University (WVU) vs Western Michigan University (WMU)

West Virginia University

Western Michigan University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

Compare Similar Colleges

Find Colleges By State

Resources

About