CMU-Mount Pleasant vs Northern Illinois University (NIU)

Central Michigan University (CMU) and Northern Illinois University (NIU) are two public universities located in the Midwestern United States, offering a wide range of academic programs and opportunities. While both universities share some similarities, there are also several key differences between them. CMU has a slightly higher acceptance rate (79%) compared to NIU (73%), and its student body is more diverse, with a larger percentage of international students. NIU, on the other hand, has a higher graduation rate (62%) than CMU (58%). To help you make an informed decision about which university is the best fit for you, we have compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into various aspects of CMU and NIU, including their acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates.

	Central Michigan University	Northern Illinois University
Overview
Location	Mount Pleasant, Michigan	Dekalb, Illinois
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: 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	77.0%	67.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	77.1%	70.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $60
SAT range	1010 - 1220	N/A
ACT range	20 - 26	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	57.0%
Students submitting ACT score	10.0%
Total number of applicants	18,517	22,602
Total number of admissions given out	14,273	15,922
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,910	2,285
Yield rate	13.4%	14.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Required	Required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$24,600	$27,218
Average net price	$16,880	$13,265
Tuition	$12,750	$9,606
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,400 Meal plan: $5,520	$11,098
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	94.0% Average amount $10,288	98.0% Average amount $13,008
Students receiving federal student loan	78.0% Average amount $5,874	58.0% Average amount $5,313
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $8,007	5.0% Average amount $11,726

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	11,417 Men 39.3% Women 60.7%	11,834 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%
Graduate students	4,007 Men 39.5% Women 60.5%	4,400 Men 40.8% Women 59.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	9.3%	N/A
International students	3.4%	4.6%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Small
Dormitory capacity	5,514	4,500
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Michigan Illinois Ohio Indiana Wisconsin	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Education Public Administration and Social Service Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Education Health Professions Business Engineering Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	61.7%	50.8%
Dropout rate	33.7%	46.9%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,045 Year 2: $113,135 Year 3: $114,375 International Business (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $76,008 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $81,586 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,477 Year 2: $74,367 Year 3: $81,249 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $82,333 Year 2: $74,200 Year 3: $79,688 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,978 Year 2: $74,200 Year 3: $78,210 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $66,347 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $77,569 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,306 Year 2: $66,105 Year 3: $76,690 Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,535 Year 2: $68,499 Year 3: $74,567 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $70,154 Year 2: $70,875 Year 3: $73,884 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,490 Year 2: $63,799 Year 3: $73,873	Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $118,716 Year 2: $98,186 Year 3: $125,726 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,047 Year 2: $88,920 Year 3: $96,563 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,161 Year 2: $91,587 Year 3: $94,214 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,013 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $76,350 Computer Science (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,606 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $75,980 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,752 Year 2: $64,150 Year 3: $74,168 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,234 Year 2: $66,989 Year 3: $74,151 Psychology, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $57,535 Year 2: $68,499 Year 3: $73,940 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $70,453 Year 2: $69,151 Year 3: $72,792 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $63,291 Year 2: $63,685 Year 3: $72,760

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