OU-Athens vs Western Kentucky University (WKU)

Ohio University-Main Campus and Western Kentucky University, both public institutions with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Ohio University, with an acceptance rate of 84%, boasts a diverse student body, while Western Kentucky University, with a slightly lower acceptance rate of 79%, has a higher proportion of undergraduate students. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors including Business, Education, and Health Professions at Ohio University, and Business, Health Professions, and Engineering at Western Kentucky University. While Ohio University has a slightly higher graduation rate, both institutions provide ample opportunities for students to succeed academically and professionally. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these universities' unique strengths and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Ohio University-Main Campus	Western Kentucky University
Overview
Location	Athens, Ohio	Bowling Green, Kentucky
Campus setting	Town: Distant	City: 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	81.0%	73.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.6%	98.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $45 Graduate: $65
SAT range	1070 - 1290	N/A
ACT range	22 - 27	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	12.0%
Students submitting ACT score	49.0%
Total number of applicants	21,733	7,255
Total number of admissions given out	19,245	7,145
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,664	2,832
Yield rate	19.0%	39.6%
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: $28,616 Out of state: $38,586	In state: $27,895 Out of state: $43,903
Average net price	$20,496	$12,395
Tuition	In state: $12,840 Out of state: $22,810	In state: $10,992 Out of state: $27,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,308 Meal plan: $6,918	Room/dormitory: $6,744 Meal plan: $3,964
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $8,756	98.0% Average amount $9,576
Students receiving federal student loan	49.0% Average amount $4,890	47.0% Average amount $5,128
Students taking out private loans	8.0% Average amount $10,581	5.0% Average amount $9,983

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	18,399 Men 39.6% Women 60.4%	14,729 Men 37.8% Women 62.2%
Graduate students	6,398 Men 42.2% Women 57.8%	2,021 Men 34.1% Women 65.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	15.7%	N/A
International students	3.9%	1.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	7,173	4,942
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Ohio Pennsylvania Illinois New York West Virginia	Tennessee Indiana Illinois Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Education Communication and Journalism Engineering	Health Professions Business Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Public Administration and Social Service
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	18:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	66.9%	53.6%
Dropout rate	4.1%	22.1%
Transferred out	27.6%	22.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Engineering, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $94,330 Year 2: $100,690 Year 3: $103,464 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,459 Year 2: $97,959 Year 3: $101,078 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,050 Year 2: $87,051 Year 3: $94,807 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,017 Year 2: $90,283 Year 3: $94,522 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $73,933 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $84,182 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $69,081 Year 2: $70,719 Year 3: $74,325 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,115 Year 2: $67,202 Year 3: $72,469 Osteopathic Medicine/Osteopathy (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $55,332 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $70,864 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,736 Year 2: $68,219 Year 3: $70,825 Air Transportation (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,402 Year 2: $50,465 Year 3: $69,646	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $76,015 Year 2: $86,696 Year 3: $95,431 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $71,960 Year 2: $76,998 Year 3: $77,293 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,199 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $77,197 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,704 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $68,358 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,193 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $66,850 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,992 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $65,815 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,607 Year 2: $61,144 Year 3: $65,553 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,759 Year 2: $51,551 Year 3: $57,443 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $53,729 Year 2: $52,897 Year 3: $56,104 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,172 Year 2: $56,281 Year 3: $55,609

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