Western Michigan University (WMU) vs App State

Western Michigan University and Appalachian State University, both esteemed public institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Western Michigan, located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, boasts a higher acceptance rate (79%) compared to Appalachian State's 73% in Boone, North Carolina. While Western Michigan's student body is more diverse, with 40% identifying as non-white, Appalachian State's student body is predominantly white (79%). Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors including Business, Health Professions, and Education. However, Appalachian State excels in certain fields like Parks, Recreation, Leisure, and Fitness Studies, while Western Michigan shines in Engineering and Aviation. With similar graduation rates hovering around 60%, both universities provide ample opportunities for students to succeed. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Appalachian State University	Western Michigan University
Overview
Location	Boone, North Carolina	Kalamazoo, Michigan
Campus setting	Town: Distant	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	86.0%	77.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	84.7%	82.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1130 - 1300	1000 - 1220
ACT range	24 - 29	21 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	9.0%	37.0%
Students submitting ACT score	23.0%	7.0%
Total number of applicants	21,120	18,853
Total number of admissions given out	17,886	15,612
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,099	2,112
Yield rate	22.9%	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)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $22,220 Out of state: $37,827	In state: $27,947 Out of state: $31,281
Average net price	$12,735	$19,749
Tuition	In state: $4,242 Out of state: $19,849	In state: $13,334 Out of state: $16,668
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,595 Meal plan: $4,086	$10,884
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Other alternative tuition plan	Tuition payment plan Other alternative tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	54.0% Average amount $7,652	95.0% Average amount $6,352
Students receiving federal student loan	45.0% Average amount $5,054	49.0% Average amount $5,188
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $12,285	10.0% Average amount $15,132

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	18,555 Men 43.3% Women 56.7%	14,587 Men 50.1% Women 49.9%
Graduate students	2,086 Men 29.6% Women 70.4%	3,679 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	10.5%	23.8%
International students	0.5%	7.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	5,971	5,130
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	North Carolina South Carolina Virginia Georgia Florida	Michigan Illinois Indiana Wisconsin Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Visual & Performing Arts Public Administration and Social Service	Health Professions Education Engineering Business Multidisciplinary Studies
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	72.7%	56.3%
Dropout rate	7.6%	14.6%
Transferred out	18.3%	25.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,824 Year 2: $60,623 Year 3: $79,392 Educational Administration and Supervision (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: $70,638 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,462 Year 2: $54,382 Year 3: $67,337 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $57,036 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $65,634 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $57,587 Year 2: $49,084 Year 3: $63,376 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,322 Year 2: $55,693 Year 3: $60,614 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,088 Year 2: $44,989 Year 3: $59,659 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,199 Year 2: $54,296 Year 3: $59,624 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,623 Year 2: $56,415 Year 3: $58,316 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,799 Year 2: $54,635 Year 3: $57,400	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

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