Western Illinois University (WIU) vs Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)

Western Illinois University (WIU) and Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) are two distinct institutions of higher learning, each offering unique opportunities and experiences to their students. WIU, located in Macomb, Illinois, is a public university with a long history dating back to 1899. FGCU, on the other hand, is a younger institution, established in 1997 in Fort Myers, Florida, and is also a public university. While both universities share similarities in their commitment to academic excellence and student success, they differ in several key aspects, including acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover which university better aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Florida Gulf Coast University	Western Illinois University
Overview
Location	Fort Myers, Florida	Macomb, Illinois
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Remote
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	82.0%	72.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	89.2%	72.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30
SAT range	1010 - 1180	N/A
ACT range	19 - 25	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	79.0%
Students submitting ACT score	45.0%
Total number of applicants	14,462	7,156
Total number of admissions given out	12,901	5,187
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,125	920
Yield rate	24.2%	17.7%
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)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $20,390 Out of state: $39,434	$29,140
Average net price	$9,840	$11,666
Tuition	In state: $4,191 Out of state: $22,328	$9,238
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,820 Meal plan: $4,346	Room/dormitory: $6,240 Meal plan: $3,952
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	78.0% Average amount $6,754	94.0% Average amount $13,937
Students receiving federal student loan	30.0% Average amount $7,251	50.0% Average amount $5,417
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $16,201	5.0% Average amount $9,533

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	14,228 Men 42.9% Women 57.1%	5,394 Men 43.5% Women 56.5%
Graduate students	1,681 Men 29.2% Women 70.8%	2,061 Men 42.9% Women 57.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	17.6%	9.7%
International students	2.1%	8.8%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	4,732	3,083
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Florida Illinois New Jersey Pennsylvania Ohio	Illinois Iowa Missouri Wisconsin Indiana

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Multidisciplinary Studies Liberal Arts Education Engineering	Education Business Liberal Arts Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Health Professions
Students to faculty ratio	22:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	56.2%	50.9%
Dropout rate	26.2%	16.5%
Transferred out	13.4%	31.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,910 Year 2: $59,722 Year 3: $85,341 Computer Software and Media Applications (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $74,972 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $70,296 Year 3: $73,324 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,429 Year 2: $66,821 Year 3: $68,880 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,840 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $68,095 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,707 Year 2: $47,520 Year 3: $65,837 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,279 Year 2: $62,409 Year 3: $64,731 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,799 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $63,963 Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,944 Year 2: $46,769 Year 3: $59,253 Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,874 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $58,083	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,427 Year 2: $63,166 Year 3: $79,149 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,346 Year 2: $81,702 Year 3: $72,457 Engineering Technology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,220 Year 2: $60,771 Year 3: $65,823 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $64,904 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,827 Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $64,741 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,966 Year 2: $58,334 Year 3: $63,350 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,154 Year 2: $49,729 Year 3: $54,520 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,063 Year 2: $43,612 Year 3: $53,379 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,058 Year 2: $48,667 Year 3: $52,271 Educational/Instructional Media Design (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,853 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $51,827

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.