U of A vs NorthWestern

Nestled in the vibrant city of Tucson, Arizona, the University of Arizona (UArizona) stands as a beacon of academic excellence, while Northwestern University (NU) thrives in the heart of Evanston, Illinois, just minutes from the bustling metropolis of Chicago. Both institutions offer a world-class education, but they differ in several key aspects. UArizona boasts a significantly higher acceptance rate, making it a more accessible option for aspiring students. In contrast, NU's lower acceptance rate reflects its highly selective admissions process. When it comes to popular majors, UArizona excels in fields like business, engineering, and social sciences, while NU is renowned for its strengths in engineering, business, and communication. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve deeper into the acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates of these two esteemed universities, and discover which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Northwestern University	University of Arizona
Overview
Location	Evanston, Illinois	Tucson, Arizona
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	99.0%	84.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	7.0%	87.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $95	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $85
SAT range	1470 - 1570	1120 - 1370
ACT range	34 - 35	21 - 29
Students submitting SAT score	43.0%	13.0%
Students submitting ACT score	39.0%	19.0%
Total number of applicants	47,636	48,065
Total number of admissions given out	3,321	41,946
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,086	8,436
Yield rate	62.8%	20.1%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$83,838	In state: $30,136 Out of state: $54,658
Average net price	$29,999	$17,242
Tuition	$60,276	In state: $11,299 Out of state: $35,821
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $11,271 Meal plan: $6,993	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)	57.0% Average amount $51,087	92.0% Average amount $13,790
Students receiving federal student loan	23.0% Average amount $4,625	24.0% Average amount $4,845
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $38,595	3.0% Average amount $20,814

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,847 Men 46.1% Women 53.9%	37,434 Men 44.3% Women 55.7%
Graduate students	14,562 Men 47.3% Women 52.7%	10,840 Men 44.5% Women 55.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	48.8%
International students	17.8%	6.5%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	4,409	7,036
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Arizona California Washington Illinois Colorado

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Communication and Journalism Engineering Health Professions Legal Profession	Health Professions Business Engineering Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	6:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	95.2%	64.3%
Dropout rate	4.2%	14.3%
Transferred out	N/A	19.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $150,242 Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $221,242 Business/Commerce, General (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $216,176 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $187,194 Year 2: $170,971 Year 3: $206,288 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $120,709 Year 2: $189,565 Year 3: $194,961 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $162,478 Year 2: $163,561 Year 3: $177,652 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $111,200 Year 2: $157,779 Year 3: $159,304 Engineering, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $140,321 Year 2: $141,586 Year 3: $154,556 Medical Illustration and Informatics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $88,288 Year 2: $118,465 Year 3: $132,325 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $118,780 Year 2: $111,323 Year 3: $130,124 Community Organization and Advocacy (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $115,760 Year 2: $113,668 Year 3: $128,046	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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