Mount Saint Mary's University vs Southern Methodist University (SMU)

Mount Saint Mary's University and Southern Methodist University, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Mount Saint Mary's, a private Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland, fosters a close-knit community with a strong liberal arts foundation. In contrast, Southern Methodist University, a private research university in Dallas, Texas, emphasizes innovation and entrepreneurship, providing students with ample opportunities for hands-on learning and research. While both universities offer a diverse range of academic programs, Mount Saint Mary's is known for its strengths in the humanities and social sciences, while Southern Methodist University excels in business, engineering, and the arts. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about the acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, graduation rates, and other key differences between these two esteemed institutions.

	Mount Saint Mary's University	Southern Methodist University
Overview
Location	Los Angeles, California	Dallas, Texas
Campus setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	73.0%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Catholic	Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	90.1%	53.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75
SAT range	N/A	1340 - 1510
ACT range	N/A	31 - 34
Students submitting SAT score		16.0%
Students submitting ACT score		23.0%
Total number of applicants	1,710	15,685
Total number of admissions given out	1,541	8,333
Admitted students who chose to enroll	367	1,572
Yield rate	23.8%	18.9%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$69,092	$72,336
Average net price	$24,508	$41,986
Tuition	$44,088	$53,464
Room & board	$12,704	Room/dormitory: $10,860 Meal plan: $6,578
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $32,202	74.0% Average amount $34,940
Students receiving federal student loan	64.0% Average amount $5,327	25.0% Average amount $5,241
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $18,656	5.0% Average amount $29,055

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,930 Men 6.5% Women 93.5%	6,908 Men 50.5% Women 49.5%
Graduate students	695 Men 21.3% Women 78.7%	5,477 Men 52.4% Women 47.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	59.4%
International students	0.3%	8.1%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	535	3,403
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Texas California Florida New York Illinois

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Psychology Business Social Sciences Education	Business Engineering Education Legal Profession Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	13:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	59.0%	82.4%
Dropout rate	11.3%	4.7%
Transferred out	27.9%	12.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $80,705 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $96,293 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $84,742 Year 2: $81,662 Year 3: $95,637 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $67,666 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $89,999 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $69,340 Year 2: $67,660 Year 3: $71,416 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,352 Year 2: $56,579 Year 3: $58,403 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,111 Year 2: $48,265 Year 3: $57,114 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,166 Year 2: $52,385 Year 3: $52,068 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,795 Year 2: $31,133 Year 3: $47,471 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,589 Year 2: $22,871 Year 3: $41,309 Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,665 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $30,097	Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,915 Year 2: $111,196 Year 3: $127,135 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $118,537 Year 2: $120,363 Year 3: $120,106 Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,239 Year 2: $101,558 Year 3: $116,891 Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $104,021 Year 2: $101,072 Year 3: $112,196 Marketing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $89,842 Year 2: $101,072 Year 3: $107,302 Computer Systems Analysis (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,251 Year 2: $81,491 Year 3: $100,026 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,824 Year 2: $86,867 Year 3: $99,671 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $81,633 Year 2: $81,554 Year 3: $99,143 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,678 Year 2: $73,446 Year 3: $89,611 Operations Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $89,319

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