Fairmont State vs Murray State

Fairmont State University and Murray State University, both public institutions with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Fairmont State, nestled in the scenic hills of West Virginia, boasts a smaller student body, fostering a close-knit community feel. Murray State, located in the vibrant city of Murray, Kentucky, offers a larger and more diverse student population. While Fairmont State has a higher acceptance rate, Murray State attracts a slightly higher percentage of out-of-state students. Both universities offer a wide range of academic programs, with popular majors including business, education, and nursing. However, Murray State offers a broader selection of graduate degrees. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two institutions, including acceptance rates, student body demographics, graduation rates, and popular majors.

	Fairmont State University	Murray State University
Overview
Location	Fairmont, West Virginia	Murray, Kentucky
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Town: Remote
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	61.0%	75.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	98.8%	85.2%
Application fees	$50	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $40
SAT range	900 - 1090	960 - 1200
ACT range	17 - 23	20 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	46.0%	16.0%
Students submitting ACT score	34.0%	86.0%
Total number of applicants	1,767	9,144
Total number of admissions given out	1,745	7,787
Admitted students who chose to enroll	655	1,395
Yield rate	37.5%	17.9%
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)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $20,914 Out of state: $30,172	In state: $26,219 Out of state: $35,495
Average net price	$11,277	$11,237
Tuition	In state: $5,946 Out of state: $14,992	In state: $8,040 Out of state: $17,316
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,624 Meal plan: $4,574	Room/dormitory: $5,538 Meal plan: $4,330
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	94.0% Average amount $6,593	99.0% Average amount $11,753
Students receiving federal student loan	53.0% Average amount $4,996	47.0% Average amount $6,997
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $11,907	7.0% Average amount $10,075

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,273 Men 40.6% Women 59.4%	7,651 Men 37.5% Women 62.5%
Graduate students	289 Men 32.9% Women 67.1%	1,763 Men 35.1% Women 64.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	11.1%	N/A
International students	1.6%	5.4%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	1,058	3,064
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	West Virginia Pennsylvania Maryland Virginia Ohio	Illinois Tennessee Indiana Missouri

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Engineering Technologies Education Liberal Arts Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Health Professions Education Business Agriculture Engineering Technologies
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	45.4%	55.9%
Dropout rate	33.9%	42.8%
Transferred out	20.6%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,279 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $62,993 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,620 Year 2: $63,855 Year 3: $61,157 Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,294 Year 2: $54,153 Year 3: $58,294 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $58,529 Year 2: $56,641 Year 3: $56,475 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $39,809 Year 2: $37,306 Year 3: $43,308 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,042 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: $41,321 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,631 Year 2: $30,409 Year 3: $39,952 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,253 Year 2: $31,189 Year 3: $39,801 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,125 Year 2: $31,495 Year 3: $38,357 Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,334 Year 2: $28,816 Year 3: $34,425	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $162,817 Year 3: $178,780 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,792 Year 2: $79,473 Year 3: $88,757 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,448 Year 2: $66,969 Year 3: $69,761 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,888 Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $66,008 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,643 Year 2: $59,485 Year 3: $65,410 Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,121 Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $59,977 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,148 Year 2: $58,142 Year 3: $55,771 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $44,974 Year 2: $59,485 Year 3: $54,238 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,117 Year 2: $56,641 Year 3: $52,217 Information Science/Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,964 Year 2: $50,856 Year 3: $50,840

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Fairmont State vs Murray State

Fairmont State University

Murray State University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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