Western Illinois University (WIU) vs Northwest State

Western Illinois University (WIU) and Northwest Missouri State University (NWMSU) are two public universities located in the Midwestern United States, each offering a unique educational experience. WIU, situated in Macomb, Illinois, boasts a higher acceptance rate (85%) compared to NWMSU's 78% in Maryville, Missouri. While both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, WIU excels in fields like Business, Education, and Fine Arts, while NWMSU is renowned for its strong programs in Business, Communication, and Health Sciences. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further distinctions between these institutions, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your choice of higher education.

	Northwest Missouri State University	Western Illinois University
Overview
Location	Maryville, Missouri	Macomb, Illinois
Campus setting	Town: Remote	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	76.0%	72.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	85.6%	72.5%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30
SAT range	953 - 1133	N/A
ACT range	19 - 24	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	1.0%
Students submitting ACT score	95.0%
Total number of applicants	7,039	7,156
Total number of admissions given out	6,024	5,187
Admitted students who chose to enroll	964	920
Yield rate	16.0%	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: $22,523 Out of state: $28,590	$29,140
Average net price	$13,754	$11,666
Tuition	In state: $5,461 Out of state: $11,528	$9,238
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,582 Meal plan: $3,966	Room/dormitory: $6,240 Meal plan: $3,952
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	96.0% Average amount $8,153	94.0% Average amount $13,937
Students receiving federal student loan	59.0% Average amount $5,260	50.0% Average amount $5,417
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $9,915	5.0% Average amount $9,533

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	5,306 Men 40.1% Women 59.9%	5,394 Men 43.5% Women 56.5%
Graduate students	2,564 Men 41.1% Women 58.9%	2,061 Men 42.9% Women 57.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	29.4%	9.7%
International students	8.9%	8.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	2,414	3,083
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Missouri Iowa Nebraska Kansas Illinois	Illinois Iowa Missouri Wisconsin Indiana

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Computer and Information Science Agriculture Health Professions	Education Business Liberal Arts Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Health Professions
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	52.4%	50.9%
Dropout rate	17.9%	16.5%
Transferred out	28.8%	31.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,353 Year 2: $65,387 Year 3: $74,049 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,868 Year 2: $48,198 Year 3: $55,549 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,788 Year 2: $51,197 Year 3: $54,473 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $50,439 Year 3: $52,420 Computer Software and Media Applications (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,075 Year 2: $45,715 Year 3: $52,373 Plant Sciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $49,837 Agricultural Business and Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,533 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $49,285 Agriculture, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,158 Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $49,112 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,370 Year 2: $43,379 Year 3: $48,369 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,668 Year 2: $41,342 Year 3: $46,406	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

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