Kent State vs Old Dominion University (ODU)

Kent State University at Kent and Old Dominion University, both public research universities, offer distinct educational experiences. Kent State, located in Kent, Ohio, boasts a higher acceptance rate (86%) compared to Old Dominion University's (79%) in Norfolk, Virginia. Kent State's student body is more diverse, with a larger international student population. Old Dominion, on the other hand, has a slightly higher graduation rate (68%) than Kent State's (66%). While both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, Kent State excels in majors like nursing, education, and business, while Old Dominion is known for its engineering, computer science, and health professions programs. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Kent State University at Kent	Old Dominion University
Overview
Location	Kent, Ohio	Norfolk, Virginia
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: Midsize
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	81.0%	72.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	87.3%	96.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $45	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1000 - 1210	1020 - 1220
ACT range	19 - 25	20 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	18.0%	83.0%
Students submitting ACT score	66.0%	11.0%
Total number of applicants	19,881	13,586
Total number of admissions given out	17,359	13,074
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,050	2,899
Yield rate	23.3%	22.2%
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	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $27,954 Out of state: $36,830	In state: $28,088 Out of state: $48,248
Average net price	$18,947	$17,254
Tuition	In state: $11,774 Out of state: $20,650	In state: $7,029 Out of state: $26,664
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,417 Meal plan: $5,666	Room/dormitory: $7,690 Meal plan: $5,398
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	91.0% Average amount $8,401	91.0% Average amount $7,702
Students receiving federal student loan	56.0% Average amount $5,405	57.0% Average amount $5,222
Students taking out private loans	10.0% Average amount $13,210	7.0% Average amount $15,206

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	21,133 Men 37.7% Women 62.3%	18,678 Men 43.9% Women 56.1%
Graduate students	5,464 Men 33.3% Women 66.7%	4,816 Men 39.4% Women 60.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	19.7%	10.2%
International students	5.2%	2.8%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	5,674	4,361
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Ohio Pennsylvania New York Illinois Michigan	Virginia Maryland Pennsylvania North Carolina New Jersey

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Business Visual & Performing Arts Communication and Journalism	Health Professions Education Engineering Computer and Information Science Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	67.7%	48.7%
Dropout rate	9.4%	19.7%
Transferred out	21.3%	28.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $87,715 Year 2: $89,685 Year 3: $100,554 Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $75,015 Year 2: $72,734 Year 3: $77,710 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $64,597 Year 2: $73,635 Year 3: $77,296 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,552 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $75,264 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,262 Year 2: $53,358 Year 3: $66,878 Computer Systems Analysis (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,914 Year 2: $53,358 Year 3: $65,790 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,436 Year 2: $57,619 Year 3: $65,215 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $55,674 Year 2: $53,108 Year 3: $65,118 Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,124 Year 2: $49,019 Year 3: $63,596 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,648 Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $63,476	Engineering, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $98,047 Year 2: $106,421 Year 3: $104,107 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $105,948 Year 2: $95,295 Year 3: $103,379 Engineering, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $79,161 Year 2: $78,719 Year 3: $83,937 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,137 Year 2: $72,231 Year 3: $83,852 Education, Other (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $74,043 Year 2: $71,854 Year 3: $77,597 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $64,315 Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $75,302 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,709 Year 2: $66,126 Year 3: $74,887 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $72,357 Year 2: $71,114 Year 3: $74,858 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,112 Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: $73,924 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,804 Year 2: $62,654 Year 3: $72,559

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