Woodbury University vs CSU San Marcos

Woodbury University and California State University-San Marcos (CSUSM) are two distinct institutions offering unique educational experiences. Woodbury University, a private university located in Burbank, California, boasts a smaller student body and a higher acceptance rate compared to CSUSM, a public university situated in San Marcos, California. While Woodbury University excels in design, architecture, and business programs, CSUSM offers a wider range of undergraduate and graduate degrees, including popular majors like business, psychology, and criminal justice. Both universities have diverse student bodies, but CSUSM has a slightly higher graduation rate. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and goals.

	California State University-San Marcos	Woodbury University
Overview
Location	San Marcos, California	Burbank, California
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: 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	79.0%	75.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	93.3%	63.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	13,986	1,453
Total number of admissions given out	13,049	916
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,413	116
Yield rate	18.5%	12.7%
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)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $22,366 Out of state: $34,246	$66,557
Average net price	$14,296	$32,293
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	$41,924
Room & board		Room/dormitory: $8,672 Meal plan: $5,224
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	70.0% Average amount $9,298	100.0% Average amount $23,275
Students receiving federal student loan	22.0% Average amount $4,734	59.0% Average amount $5,274
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $12,988	4.0% Average amount $20,660

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	14,963 Men 38.4% Women 61.6%	937 Men 47.8% Women 52.2%
Graduate students	1,292 Men 28.4% Women 71.6%	99 Men 46.5% Women 53.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	1.5%	N/A
International students	3.4%	6.5%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,547	224
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Colorado Washington Virginia Arizona	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences Computer and Information Science Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Business Architecture Visual & Performing Arts Multidisciplinary Studies Communication and Journalism
Students to faculty ratio	25:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	59.2%	59.1%
Dropout rate	33.6%	40.0%
Transferred out	2.6%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $107,746 Year 2: $103,555 Year 3: $111,324 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $90,827 Year 2: $88,074 Year 3: $90,666 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $72,843 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $83,791 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $66,941 Year 3: $72,765 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,962 Year 2: $71,015 Year 3: $71,818 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,769 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $68,571 Physics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $65,899 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,297 Year 2: $49,520 Year 3: $62,797 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,252 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $59,957 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $45,864 Year 3: $57,022	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,511 Year 2: $63,997 Year 3: $68,397 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $56,287 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,237 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $55,283 Architecture (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,734 Year 2: $49,064 Year 3: $54,702 Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,523 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $42,634 Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,051 Year 2: $25,774 Year 3: $29,447 Architecture (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $53,358 Year 3: N/A Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,146 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: N/A Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: N/A

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