Illinois State vs Sam Houston State University (SHSU)

Envision yourself as a student, embarking on a journey of higher education. As you navigate the vast landscape of universities, two prominent institutions emerge: Illinois State University and Sam Houston State University. While both share a commitment to academic excellence, they possess distinct characteristics that may influence your decision. Illinois State boasts a higher acceptance rate, welcoming a diverse student body from various backgrounds. Sam Houston, on the other hand, offers a more intimate learning environment with smaller class sizes. Explore the comparison table below to delve into further details, such as popular majors, graduation rates, and additional factors that will help you determine the university that best aligns with your aspirations and goals.

	Illinois State University	Sam Houston State University
Overview
Location	Normal, Illinois	Huntsville, Texas
Campus setting	Suburb: Midsize	Town: Distant
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	83.0%	73.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	91.5%	96.6%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1000 - 1200	950 - 1120
ACT range	21 - 27	18 - 23
Students submitting SAT score	51.0%	57.0%
Students submitting ACT score	19.0%	16.0%
Total number of applicants	11,913	11,556
Total number of admissions given out	10,905	11,161
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,374	2,908
Yield rate	30.9%	26.1%
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: $31,811 Out of state: $43,335	In state: $24,612 Out of state: $34,404
Average net price	$21,033	$14,287
Tuition	In state: $11,524 Out of state: $23,048	In state: $5,856 Out of state: $15,648
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,494 Meal plan: $4,652	Room/dormitory: $5,918 Meal plan: $4,650
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	91.0% Average amount $10,848	70.0% Average amount $9,492
Students receiving federal student loan	46.0% Average amount $5,065	52.0% Average amount $5,618
Students taking out private loans	8.0% Average amount $14,532	0.0% Average amount $14,496

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	17,674 Men 43.0% Women 57.0%	18,288 Men 36.2% Women 63.8%
Graduate students	2,559 Men 35.1% Women 64.9%	3,324 Men 31.7% Women 68.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	4.2%	1.4%
International students	2.8%	1.3%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Midsize	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	5,560	3,398
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Illinois Missouri Wisconsin Michigan Iowa	Texas Florida California Arkansas Illinois

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Communication and Journalism Computer and Information Science	Business Education Health Professions Agriculture Communication and Journalism
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	20:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	67.3%	57.3%
Dropout rate	32.0%	16.2%
Transferred out	N/A	23.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,556 Year 2: $95,930 Year 3: $102,485 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,002 Year 2: $64,990 Year 3: $78,276 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,303 Year 2: $72,884 Year 3: $77,896 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,576 Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $73,936 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,516 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $73,592 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $62,000 Year 2: $64,791 Year 3: $70,358 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,829 Year 2: $65,194 Year 3: $65,533 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,294 Year 2: $54,996 Year 3: $64,567 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,313 Year 2: $52,781 Year 3: $64,241 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,480 Year 2: $54,470 Year 3: $63,207	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $73,554 Year 2: $68,858 Year 3: $76,776 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $68,691 Year 2: $74,953 Year 3: $76,058 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,097 Year 2: $69,740 Year 3: $73,214 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,694 Year 2: $66,049 Year 3: $72,403 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,377 Year 2: $56,415 Year 3: $67,947 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,438 Year 2: $60,128 Year 3: $67,313 Music (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,381 Year 2: $57,705 Year 3: $65,080 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,710 Year 2: $68,666 Year 3: $62,801 Agricultural Mechanization (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,352 Year 2: $49,436 Year 3: $59,631 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,213 Year 2: $56,579 Year 3: $57,976

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