CSU San Marcos vs IU Northwest

California State University-San Marcos (CSUSM) and Indiana University-Northwest (IUN) are two distinct universities with unique offerings. CSUSM, located in the vibrant city of San Marcos, California, boasts an acceptance rate of 78%, while IUN, situated in the historic town of Gary, Indiana, has a slightly lower acceptance rate of 70%. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with CSUSM excelling in fields like business, psychology, and criminal justice, and IUN showcasing strengths in nursing, education, and social work. While CSUSM's student body is predominantly Hispanic, IUN's student population is largely White. Additionally, CSUSM boasts a higher graduation rate of 58% compared to IUN's 42%. To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting these key differences and more. Dive into the details to discover which

	California State University-San Marcos	Indiana University-Northwest
Overview
Location	San Marcos, California	Gary, Indiana
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: Small
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%	64.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	93.3%	85.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $35 Graduate: $40
SAT range	N/A	940 - 1140
ACT range	N/A	17 - 26
Students submitting SAT score		18.0%
Students submitting ACT score		6.0%
Total number of applicants	13,986	1,660
Total number of admissions given out	13,049	1,419
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,413	482
Yield rate	18.5%	34.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $22,366 Out of state: $34,246	In state: $21,979 Out of state: $35,086
Average net price	$14,296	$5,625
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	In state: $7,170 Out of state: $20,277
Room & board
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	70.0% Average amount $9,298	78.0% Average amount $6,616
Students receiving federal student loan	22.0% Average amount $4,734	34.0% Average amount $4,764
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $12,988	2.0% Average amount $7,036

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	14,963 Men 38.4% Women 61.6%	3,063 Men 26.7% Women 73.3%
Graduate students	1,292 Men 28.4% Women 71.6%	397 Men 25.7% Women 74.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	1.5%	1.7%
International students	3.4%	0.5%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	1,547	N/A
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	N/A
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Colorado Washington Virginia Arizona	Indiana Illinois Hawaii

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences Computer and Information Science Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Health Professions Business Public Administration and Social Service Education Law Enforcement and Firefighting
Students to faculty ratio	25:1	14:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	59.2%	37.6%
Dropout rate	33.6%	36.5%
Transferred out	2.6%	23.5%
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/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $88,103 Year 2: $77,715 Year 3: $90,621 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $63,588 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,466 Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: $62,377 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,454 Year 2: $52,822 Year 3: $62,341 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $43,240 Year 3: $54,230 Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,834 Year 2: $45,500 Year 3: $50,663 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $38,827 Year 2: $44,755 Year 3: $46,712 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,558 Year 2: $36,608 Year 3: $41,722 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,857 Year 2: $39,119 Year 3: $41,245 Public Health (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,649 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $39,700

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