William Paterson vs Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)

William Paterson University of New Jersey and Florida Gulf Coast University, located in contrasting regions of the United States, offer distinct educational experiences. William Paterson, a public university in Wayne, New Jersey, boasts a higher acceptance rate and a more diverse student body, while Florida Gulf Coast, a public university in Fort Myers, Florida, offers a more intimate learning environment with smaller class sizes. Both universities provide a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, with popular majors in business, education, and health sciences. While William Paterson has a slightly higher graduation rate, Florida Gulf Coast offers a more affordable tuition rate. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover which university better aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Florida Gulf Coast University	William Paterson University of New Jersey
Overview
Location	Fort Myers, Florida	Wayne, New Jersey
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
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	82.0%	67.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	89.2%	83.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1010 - 1180	N/A
ACT range	19 - 25	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	79.0%
Students submitting ACT score	45.0%
Total number of applicants	14,462	9,171
Total number of admissions given out	12,901	7,636
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,125	995
Yield rate	24.2%	13.0%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $20,390 Out of state: $39,434	In state: $29,636 Out of state: $38,374
Average net price	$9,840	$15,762
Tuition	In state: $4,191 Out of state: $22,328	In state: $13,778 Out of state: $22,516
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,820 Meal plan: $4,346	Room/dormitory: $8,062 Meal plan: $4,672
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	78.0% Average amount $6,754	73.0% Average amount $10,710
Students receiving federal student loan	30.0% Average amount $7,251	49.0% Average amount $5,171
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $16,201	6.0% Average amount $12,281

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	14,228 Men 42.9% Women 57.1%	7,219 Men 40.9% Women 59.1%
Graduate students	1,681 Men 29.2% Women 70.8%	2,150 Men 24.6% Women 75.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	17.6%	5.7%
International students	2.1%	1.3%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	4,732	2,605
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Florida Illinois New Jersey Pennsylvania Ohio	New Jersey New York Maryland Pennsylvania Connecticut

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Multidisciplinary Studies Liberal Arts Education Engineering	Business Education Health Professions Psychology Communication and Journalism
Students to faculty ratio	22:1	14:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	56.2%	56.0%
Dropout rate	26.2%	33.1%
Transferred out	13.4%	7.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,910 Year 2: $59,722 Year 3: $85,341 Computer Software and Media Applications (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $74,972 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $70,296 Year 3: $73,324 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,429 Year 2: $66,821 Year 3: $68,880 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,840 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $68,095 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,707 Year 2: $47,520 Year 3: $65,837 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,279 Year 2: $62,409 Year 3: $64,731 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,799 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $63,963 Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,944 Year 2: $46,769 Year 3: $59,253 Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,874 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $58,083	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $75,485 Year 2: $76,946 Year 3: $82,170 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,661 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $73,341 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $63,945 Year 2: $65,238 Year 3: $72,250 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,792 Year 2: $68,079 Year 3: $71,545 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,054 Year 2: $51,482 Year 3: $66,449 General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,414 Year 2: $52,607 Year 3: $64,085 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $60,998 Year 2: $56,738 Year 3: $61,464 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,852 Year 2: $49,491 Year 3: $54,948 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,724 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: $54,359 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $36,941 Year 3: $53,191

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