Western Oregon University vs Northern Arizona University (NAU)

Western Oregon University (WOU) and Northern Arizona University (NAU) are two distinct institutions of higher learning, each offering unique opportunities and experiences to their students. WOU, located in Monmouth, Oregon, is a public liberal arts university with a focus on undergraduate education, while NAU, situated in Flagstaff, Arizona, is a public research university with a diverse range of academic programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. While both universities share a commitment to academic excellence, 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.

	Northern Arizona University	Western Oregon University
Overview
Location	Flagstaff, Arizona	Monmouth, Oregon
Campus setting	City: Small	Town: Fringe
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Quarter
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	74.0%	65.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	78.4%	91.6%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $65	$60
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	42,872	2,798
Total number of admissions given out	33,592	2,562
Admitted students who chose to enroll	5,297	544
Yield rate	15.8%	21.2%
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: $28,430 Out of state: $43,176	In state: $24,075 Out of state: $43,515
Average net price	$16,059	$15,181
Tuition	In state: $10,650 Out of state: $25,396	In state: $8,460 Out of state: $27,900
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,000 Meal plan: $5,338	Room/dormitory: $9,002 Meal plan: $2,250
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	97.0% Average amount $12,922	98.0% Average amount $7,891
Students receiving federal student loan	34.0% Average amount $5,314	93.0% Average amount $4,049
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $13,306	6.0% Average amount $13,398

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	24,162 Men 37.0% Women 63.0%	3,615 Men 32.6% Women 67.4%
Graduate students	4,549 Men 32.1% Women 67.9%	414 Men 30.2% Women 69.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	31.9%	17.9%
International students	2.2%	3.0%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	9,853	1,333
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Arizona California Colorado Nevada New Mexico	Oregon California Washington Hawaii Alaska

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Engineering Public Administration and Social Service	Education Multidisciplinary Studies Law Enforcement and Firefighting Health Professions Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio	21:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	59.0%	48.3%
Dropout rate	40.0%	49.1%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $94,560 Year 2: $101,406 Year 3: $108,112 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,716 Year 2: $92,632 Year 3: $96,135 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $80,374 Year 2: $79,081 Year 3: $89,768 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,244 Year 2: $76,117 Year 3: $81,532 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,225 Year 2: $74,890 Year 3: $79,106 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,718 Year 2: $68,219 Year 3: $75,432 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $71,725 Year 2: $71,183 Year 3: $71,928 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,840 Year 2: $59,350 Year 3: $70,793 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,911 Year 2: $65,042 Year 3: $70,433 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,712 Year 2: $54,252 Year 3: $68,199	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,160 Year 2: $52,607 Year 3: $59,453 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $49,118 Year 2: $48,667 Year 3: $49,493 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,328 Year 2: $44,021 Year 3: $47,168 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,952 Year 2: $32,467 Year 3: $45,939 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,943 Year 2: $38,529 Year 3: $45,374 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,778 Year 2: $47,327 Year 3: $42,815 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,362 Year 2: $38,505 Year 3: $42,630 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,319 Year 2: $36,382 Year 3: $40,832 Gerontology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,454 Year 2: $36,848 Year 3: $39,879 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,493 Year 2: $31,314 Year 3: $38,433

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