Widener vs George Mason University (GMU)

Widener University and George Mason University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Widener, a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania, boasts a smaller student body and a higher acceptance rate compared to George Mason, a public research university located in Fairfax, Virginia. While Widener excels in business, education, and nursing programs, George Mason shines in engineering, computer science, and public policy. Explore the detailed comparison table to delve into further differences, including student demographics, graduation rates, and cost of attendance, to determine which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	George Mason University	Widener University
Overview
Location	Fairfax, Virginia	Chester, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	84.0%	85.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	91.3%	84.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $75	$35
SAT range	1140 - 1350	1080 - 1275
ACT range	25 - 30	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	37.0%	28.0%
Students submitting ACT score	3.0%
Total number of applicants	20,527	5,719
Total number of admissions given out	18,741	4,834
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,986	608
Yield rate	21.3%	12.6%
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: $35,263 Out of state: $58,723	$61,748
Average net price	$18,841	$25,343
Tuition	In state: $9,510 Out of state: $32,970	$48,724
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,620 Meal plan: $5,010	Room/dormitory: $7,748 Meal plan: $7,060
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	70.0% Average amount $10,110	100.0% Average amount $32,036
Students receiving federal student loan	43.0% Average amount $5,006	75.0% Average amount $5,440
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $18,474	24.0% Average amount $12,154

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	26,882 Men 50.4% Women 49.6%	2,766 Men 41.9% Women 58.1%
Graduate students	11,746 Men 40.7% Women 59.3%	3,109 Men 28.1% Women 71.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	18.9%	40.5%
International students	8.0%	2.0%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	6,513	1,400
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Virginia Maryland District of Columbia Pennsylvania New York	Pennsylvania New Jersey Maryland Delaware New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Computer and Information Science Engineering	Health Professions Legal Profession Public Administration and Social Service Business Psychology
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	70.1%	68.4%
Dropout rate	9.6%	7.7%
Transferred out	16.5%	23.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,837 Year 2: $109,763 Year 3: $127,586 Homeland Security (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,476 Year 2: $127,993 Year 3: $120,573 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,886 Year 2: $99,709 Year 3: $117,377 Computer Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $112,424 Year 2: $101,072 Year 3: $115,693 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $98,841 Year 2: $105,585 Year 3: $113,896 Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $121,226 Year 2: $92,632 Year 3: $105,664 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $101,843 Year 2: $100,690 Year 3: $101,702 Medical Illustration and Informatics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,386 Year 2: $84,653 Year 3: $101,604 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,911 Year 2: $91,448 Year 3: $99,722 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $94,065 Year 2: $92,277 Year 3: $94,785	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,072 Year 2: $69,023 Year 3: $78,834 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $70,872 Year 2: $72,274 Year 3: $77,715 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,994 Year 2: $67,660 Year 3: $74,855 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $71,854 Year 3: $74,433 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $49,168 Year 2: $50,606 Year 3: $72,346 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,959 Year 2: $63,275 Year 3: $70,157 Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,088 Year 2: $60,320 Year 3: $69,444 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $50,960 Year 2: $55,632 Year 3: $65,158 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,724 Year 2: $38,829 Year 3: $63,971 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,130 Year 2: $59,640 Year 3: $63,186

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Widener vs George Mason University (GMU)

George Mason University

Widener University

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Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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