Widener vs James Madison University (JMU)

Widener University and James Madison 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 James Madison, a public university located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. While Widener excels in engineering and business programs, James Madison shines in the fields of nursing, education, and hospitality. Explore the detailed comparison table to delve into further differences, including student demographics, graduation rates, and additional academic offerings, to determine which university aligns best with your aspirations and goals.

	James Madison University	Widener University
Overview
Location	Harrisonburg, Virginia	Chester, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	City: Small	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	91.0%	85.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	86.3%	84.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $60	$35
SAT range	1140 - 1310	1080 - 1275
ACT range	24 - 29	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	26.0%	28.0%
Students submitting ACT score	5.0%
Total number of applicants	21,176	5,719
Total number of admissions given out	18,265	4,834
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,767	608
Yield rate	26.1%	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: $29,293 Out of state: $46,219	$61,748
Average net price	$18,528	$25,343
Tuition	In state: $7,460 Out of state: $23,800	$48,724
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,564 Meal plan: $5,986	Room/dormitory: $7,748 Meal plan: $7,060
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	31.0% Average amount $9,594	100.0% Average amount $32,036
Students receiving federal student loan	33.0% Average amount $5,199	75.0% Average amount $5,440
Students taking out private loans	8.0% Average amount $18,776	24.0% Average amount $12,154

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	20,070 Men 42.3% Women 57.7%	2,766 Men 41.9% Women 58.1%
Graduate students	2,096 Men 29.4% Women 70.6%	3,109 Men 28.1% Women 71.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	40.5%
International students	1.4%	2.0%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	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	N/A	Pennsylvania New Jersey Maryland Delaware New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Visual & Performing Arts	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	81.8%	68.4%
Dropout rate	17.4%	7.7%
Transferred out	N/A	23.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $106,893 Year 2: $116,083 Year 3: $116,887 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $103,590 Year 2: $91,744 Year 3: $105,768 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,457 Year 2: $72,659 Year 3: $85,951 Information Science/Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,020 Year 2: $72,290 Year 3: $82,877 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,544 Year 2: $67,380 Year 3: $80,406 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $64,052 Year 2: $66,377 Year 3: $77,982 Systems Science and Theory (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,389 Year 2: $60,623 Year 3: $75,407 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,331 Year 2: $49,270 Year 3: $69,797 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,114 Year 2: $57,943 Year 3: $69,218 International Business (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,708 Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $68,304	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 James Madison University (JMU)

James Madison University

Widener University

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Tuition and Fees

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Academics

Outcome

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