Sam Houston State University (SHSU) vs Eastern Kentucky University (EKU)

Sam Houston State University and Eastern Kentucky University, both public universities with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Sam Houston, located in Huntsville, Texas, boasts a higher acceptance rate (84%) compared to Eastern Kentucky's 78% in Richmond, Kentucky. While Eastern Kentucky has a slightly larger student body, Sam Houston's student population is more diverse. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors including Business, Education, and Health Professions. However, Sam Houston excels in Criminal Justice and Homeland Security, while Eastern Kentucky is known for its strong programs in Aviation and Nursing. With graduation rates of 58% and 49%, respectively, both institutions are committed to student success. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these universities and make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Eastern Kentucky University	Sam Houston State University
Overview
Location	Richmond, Kentucky	Huntsville, Texas
Campus setting	Town: Distant	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	74.0%	73.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	98.3%	96.6%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50
SAT range	950 - 1180	950 - 1120
ACT range	18 - 24	18 - 23
Students submitting SAT score	4.0%	57.0%
Students submitting ACT score	88.0%	16.0%
Total number of applicants	7,251	11,556
Total number of admissions given out	7,131	11,161
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,493	2,908
Yield rate	35.0%	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: $23,762 Out of state: $34,034	In state: $24,612 Out of state: $34,404
Average net price	$14,271	$14,287
Tuition	In state: $9,452 Out of state: $19,724	In state: $5,856 Out of state: $15,648
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,416 Meal plan: $3,994	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)	98.0% Average amount $9,891	70.0% Average amount $9,492
Students receiving federal student loan	49.0% Average amount $4,950	52.0% Average amount $5,618
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $10,455	0.0% Average amount $14,496

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	11,684 Men 40.6% Women 59.4%	18,288 Men 36.2% Women 63.8%
Graduate students	2,300 Men 30.0% Women 70.0%	3,324 Men 31.7% Women 68.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	1.4%
International students	1.1%	1.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	4,479	3,398
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Ohio Illinois Indiana West Virginia	Texas Florida California Arkansas Illinois

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Law Enforcement and Firefighting Liberal Arts Engineering Technologies	Business Education Health Professions Agriculture Communication and Journalism
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	20:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	47.8%	57.3%
Dropout rate	48.5%	16.2%
Transferred out	1.6%	23.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $110,878 Year 3: $113,532 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $94,123 Year 2: $90,291 Year 3: $95,519 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,935 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $78,046 Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $73,209 Year 2: $74,105 Year 3: $74,692 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,585 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $71,030 Educational Administration and Supervision (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $54,959 Year 2: $60,523 Year 3: $62,961 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,605 Year 2: $49,019 Year 3: $62,600 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,959 Year 2: $60,523 Year 3: $61,708 Fire Protection (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,702 Year 2: $49,787 Year 3: $58,036 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,745 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $57,935	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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