CSU San Marcos vs Governors State

California State University-San Marcos (CSUSM) and Governors State University (GSU) are two distinct universities with unique offerings. CSUSM, located in the vibrant city of San Marcos, California, boasts an acceptance rate of 78%, while GSU, situated in University Park, Illinois, has a slightly lower acceptance rate of 70%. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate and graduate programs, with CSUSM excelling in fields like business, psychology, and criminal justice, and GSU specializing in nursing, social work, and education. While CSUSM's student body is predominantly Hispanic, GSU's student population is more racially and ethnically diverse. Additionally, CSUSM boasts a higher graduation rate of 58% compared to GSU's 48%. To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into these aspects and more. Explore the table to

	California State University-San Marcos	Governors State University
Overview
Location	San Marcos, California	University Park, Illinois
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Rural: Fringe
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	79.0%	48.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	93.3%	52.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	830 - 1060
ACT range	N/A	16 - 22
Students submitting SAT score		21.0%
Students submitting ACT score		2.0%
Total number of applicants	13,986	1,168
Total number of admissions given out	13,049	608
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,413	194
Yield rate	18.5%	31.9%
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	In state: $25,746 Out of state: $33,258
Average net price	$14,296	$9,943
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	In state: $7,512 Out of state: $15,024
Room & board		Room/dormitory: $7,729 Meal plan: $3,000
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	70.0% Average amount $9,298	88.0% Average amount $10,791
Students receiving federal student loan	22.0% Average amount $4,734	41.0% Average amount $5,514
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $12,988	1.0% Average amount $5,587

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	14,963 Men 38.4% Women 61.6%	2,709 Men 36.5% Women 63.5%
Graduate students	1,292 Men 28.4% Women 71.6%	1,686 Men 31.7% Women 68.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	1.5%	5.2%
International students	3.4%	7.3%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Rural: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	1,547	272
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	Illinois Indiana Florida Michigan Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences Computer and Information Science Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Health Professions Business Computer and Information Science Psychology Liberal Arts
Students to faculty ratio	25:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	59.2%	15.8%
Dropout rate	33.6%	37.4%
Transferred out	2.6%	43.8%
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	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $87,815 Year 2: $93,224 Year 3: $95,009 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,988 Year 2: $81,491 Year 3: $87,571 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,354 Year 2: $73,635 Year 3: $81,519 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $72,424 Year 2: $75,270 Year 3: $77,385 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $67,463 Year 2: $65,695 Year 3: $72,555 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $66,333 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,558 Year 2: $55,151 Year 3: $52,548 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $48,935 Year 3: $51,608 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,325 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: $51,565 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,762 Year 2: $44,595 Year 3: $51,524

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CSU San Marcos vs Governors State

California State University-San Marcos

Governors State University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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