CSU San Marcos vs CSU East Bay

California State University-San Marcos (CSUSM) and California State University-East Bay (CSUEB) are two distinct universities within the California State University system, each offering unique educational experiences. CSUSM, located in the vibrant city of San Marcos, boasts a higher acceptance rate and a smaller student body compared to CSUEB, which is situated in the diverse city of Hayward. While both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, CSUSM is known for its strengths in business, education, and nursing, while CSUEB excels in fields such as business, engineering, and health sciences. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further differences, including graduation rates, student demographics, and popular majors, to determine which university best aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	California State University-East Bay	California State University-San Marcos
Overview
Location	Hayward, California	San Marcos, California
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	80.0%	79.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	82.4%	93.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	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	14,448	13,986
Total number of admissions given out	11,899	13,049
Admitted students who chose to enroll	941	2,413
Yield rate	7.9%	18.5%
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: $29,378 Out of state: $41,258	In state: $22,366 Out of state: $34,246
Average net price	$12,631	$14,296
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,723 Meal plan: $4,650
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	91.0% Average amount $8,540	70.0% Average amount $9,298
Students receiving federal student loan	17.0% Average amount $4,931	22.0% Average amount $4,734
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $12,200	1.0% Average amount $12,988

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	12,114 Men 39.8% Women 60.2%	14,963 Men 38.4% Women 61.6%
Graduate students	3,075 Men 33.8% Women 66.2%	1,292 Men 28.4% Women 71.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	2.3%	1.5%
International students	7.7%	3.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,634	1,547
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Washington Hawaii Oregon Alaska	California Colorado Washington Virginia Arizona

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Communication and Journalism	Business Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences Computer and Information Science Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio	24:1	25:1
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	48.4%	59.2%
Dropout rate	42.2%	33.6%
Transferred out	3.9%	2.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $99,479 Year 2: $113,585 Year 3: $127,920 Statistics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $83,165 Year 2: $78,785 Year 3: $97,059 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $82,891 Year 2: $79,838 Year 3: $93,792 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $84,466 Year 2: $90,856 Year 3: $93,531 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $80,056 Year 2: $80,309 Year 3: $85,641 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $62,200 Year 2: $68,918 Year 3: $74,105 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,406 Year 2: $70,456 Year 3: $73,621 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,738 Year 2: $65,387 Year 3: $72,620 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $69,666 Year 2: $64,087 Year 3: $70,695 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,229 Year 2: $60,878 Year 3: $69,691	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

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