Western Illinois University (WIU) vs Saint Cloud State University (SCSU)

Western Illinois University and Saint Cloud State University, both public universities with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Western Illinois, located in Macomb, Illinois, boasts a higher acceptance rate (86%) compared to Saint Cloud State's 79%. Saint Cloud State, situated in Saint Cloud, Minnesota, has a larger student body, with over 10,000 undergraduates, while Western Illinois has a more intimate community of around 7,000 undergraduates. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors including Business, Education, and Psychology. However, Saint Cloud State has a slightly higher graduation rate (58%) than Western Illinois (54%). Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Saint Cloud State University	Western Illinois University
Overview
Location	Saint Cloud, Minnesota	Macomb, Illinois
Campus setting	City: Small	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	62.0%	72.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	94.3%	72.5%
Application fees	$40	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	18 - 24	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score	39.0%
Total number of applicants	4,228	7,156
Total number of admissions given out	3,988	5,187
Admitted students who chose to enroll	837	920
Yield rate	21.0%	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: $22,317 Out of state: $31,157	$29,140
Average net price	$13,615	$11,666
Tuition	In state: $7,839 Out of state: $16,679	$9,238
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,036 Meal plan: $3,311	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)	83.0% Average amount $6,233	94.0% Average amount $13,937
Students receiving federal student loan	48.0% Average amount $5,504	50.0% Average amount $5,417
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $10,683	5.0% Average amount $9,533

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,956 Men 45.7% Women 54.3%	5,394 Men 43.5% Women 56.5%
Graduate students	1,818 Men 36.9% Women 63.1%	2,061 Men 42.9% Women 57.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	9.7%
International students	10.2%	8.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	1,642	3,083
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Illinois Iowa Missouri Wisconsin Indiana

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Engineering Liberal Arts	Education Business Liberal Arts Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Health Professions
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	47.2%	50.9%
Dropout rate	16.2%	16.5%
Transferred out	34.9%	31.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Educational Administration and Supervision (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $80,556 Year 3: $94,800 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $79,020 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $92,834 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,563 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $81,117 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,734 Year 2: $59,253 Year 3: $78,506 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,589 Year 2: $63,377 Year 3: $74,072 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,404 Year 2: $66,377 Year 3: $68,544 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $58,522 Year 3: $66,211 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,623 Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $63,637 Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,397 Year 2: $62,154 Year 3: $62,291 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,276 Year 2: $51,273 Year 3: $57,748	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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