U of A vs New Mexico State University-Main Campus (NMSU)

When it comes to higher education, University of Arizona and New Mexico State University-Main Campus stand out as two prominent institutions with distinct characteristics. With an acceptance rate of 84%, the University of Arizona welcomes a diverse student body, while New Mexico State University-Main Campus maintains a slightly lower acceptance rate of 78%. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors such as Business, Engineering, and Education featuring prominently. While the University of Arizona boasts a higher graduation rate of 68%, New Mexico State University-Main Campus offers a more affordable option with lower tuition fees. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve deeper into these differences and discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	New Mexico State University-Main Campus	University of Arizona
Overview
Location	Las Cruces, New Mexico	Tucson, Arizona
Campus setting	Suburb: Midsize	City: Large
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	72.0%	84.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	57.3%	87.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $40	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $85
SAT range	920 - 1140	1120 - 1370
ACT range	17 - 23	21 - 29
Students submitting SAT score	36.0%	13.0%
Students submitting ACT score	33.0%	19.0%
Total number of applicants	12,535	48,065
Total number of admissions given out	7,177	41,946
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,013	8,436
Yield rate	28.0%	20.1%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $22,010 Out of state: $38,476	In state: $30,136 Out of state: $54,658
Average net price	$11,397	$17,242
Tuition	In state: $6,041 Out of state: $22,507	In state: $11,299 Out of state: $35,821
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,507 Meal plan: $4,900	Room/dormitory: $8,400 Meal plan: $5,050
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $11,518	92.0% Average amount $13,790
Students receiving federal student loan	30.0% Average amount $3,491	24.0% Average amount $4,845
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $10,115	3.0% Average amount $20,814

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	11,231 Men 41.9% Women 58.1%	37,434 Men 44.3% Women 55.7%
Graduate students	2,673 Men 38.9% Women 61.1%	10,840 Men 44.5% Women 55.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	29.0%	48.8%
International students	5.1%	6.5%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Midsize	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	3,384	7,036
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New Mexico Texas Arizona California Colorado	Arizona California Washington Illinois Colorado

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Engineering Health Professions Education Agriculture	Health Professions Business Engineering Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	50.4%	64.3%
Dropout rate	45.8%	14.3%
Transferred out	N/A	19.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Industrial Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $79,572 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $90,002 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,582 Year 2: $61,814 Year 3: $80,221 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $71,575 Year 3: $79,616 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,000 Year 2: $73,635 Year 3: $74,617 Engineering Technology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,548 Year 2: $59,253 Year 3: $71,978 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,906 Year 2: $62,343 Year 3: $70,303 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,738 Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $69,035 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,124 Year 2: $55,512 Year 3: $66,230 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $59,682 Year 2: $63,997 Year 3: $64,455 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,638 Year 2: $57,860 Year 3: $63,843	Physics (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $88,673 Year 2: $123,527 Year 3: $127,192 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $110,426 Year 2: $117,473 Year 3: $122,962 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $110,630 Year 2: $103,746 Year 3: $104,908 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,116 Year 2: $83,388 Year 3: $98,461 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,677 Year 2: $92,743 Year 3: $98,271 Chemistry (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $84,653 Year 3: $96,308 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $89,806 Year 2: $75,518 Year 3: $89,884 Mining and Mineral Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,657 Year 2: $73,035 Year 3: $87,557 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,627 Year 2: $79,199 Year 3: $86,387 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $77,284 Year 2: $74,953 Year 3: $83,742

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