Southern A&M vs Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)

Southern University and A & M College, a historically Black university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Florida Gulf Coast University, a public university in Fort Myers, Florida, offer distinct educational experiences. Southern boasts a higher acceptance rate (84%) compared to FGCU's 52%, making it a more accessible option. FGCU, on the other hand, has a higher graduation rate (68%) than Southern's 49%. Both universities offer a diverse range of popular majors, with Southern excelling in fields like education, nursing, and social work, while FGCU is known for its strengths in business, engineering, and health professions. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about the unique characteristics of each institution, including student body demographics, tuition costs, and available financial aid, to help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Florida Gulf Coast University	Southern University and A & M College
Overview
Location	Fort Myers, Florida	Baton Rouge, Louisiana
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	82.0%	67.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	89.2%	58.9%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $25
SAT range	1010 - 1180	840 - 1015
ACT range	19 - 25	15 - 19
Students submitting SAT score	79.0%	12.0%
Students submitting ACT score	45.0%	73.0%
Total number of applicants	14,462	8,551
Total number of admissions given out	12,901	5,035
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,125	1,618
Yield rate	24.2%	32.1%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $20,390 Out of state: $39,434	In state: $26,070 Out of state: $33,420
Average net price	$9,840	$16,310
Tuition	In state: $4,191 Out of state: $22,328	$4,973
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,820 Meal plan: $4,346	$9,366
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	78.0% Average amount $6,754	89.0% Average amount $7,726
Students receiving federal student loan	30.0% Average amount $7,251	83.0% Average amount $6,204
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $16,201	2.0% Average amount $11,819

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	14,228 Men 42.9% Women 57.1%	6,560 Men 34.3% Women 65.7%
Graduate students	1,681 Men 29.2% Women 70.8%	1,757 Men 36.4% Women 63.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	17.6%	30.5%
International students	2.1%	0.5%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	4,732	4,600
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Florida Illinois New Jersey Pennsylvania Ohio	Louisiana Texas Georgia California Florida

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Multidisciplinary Studies Liberal Arts Education Engineering	Health Professions Legal Profession Business Law Enforcement and Firefighting Public Administration and Social Service
Students to faculty ratio	22:1	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	56.2%	32.0%
Dropout rate	26.2%	60.9%
Transferred out	13.4%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,910 Year 2: $59,722 Year 3: $85,341 Computer Software and Media Applications (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $74,972 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $70,296 Year 3: $73,324 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,429 Year 2: $66,821 Year 3: $68,880 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,840 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $68,095 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,707 Year 2: $47,520 Year 3: $65,837 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,279 Year 2: $62,409 Year 3: $64,731 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,799 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $63,963 Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,944 Year 2: $46,769 Year 3: $59,253 Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,874 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $58,083	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $93,985 Year 2: $90,856 Year 3: $94,690 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,173 Year 2: $51,187 Year 3: $74,549 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,608 Year 2: $62,064 Year 3: $57,783 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $45,056 Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $54,897 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,155 Year 2: $49,344 Year 3: $53,318 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $41,467 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $49,164 Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $37,606 Year 2: $50,439 Year 3: $48,443 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,522 Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $47,501 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $47,639 Year 2: $48,139 Year 3: $47,068 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $35,369 Year 2: $36,848 Year 3: $39,415

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