University of Central Arkansas (UCA) vs Sam Houston State University (SHSU)

When it comes to higher education, University of Central Arkansas (UCA) and Sam Houston State University (SHSU) stand out as two prominent institutions with unique offerings. UCA, located in Conway, Arkansas, boasts a higher acceptance rate (78%) compared to SHSU's 68%, making it a more accessible option for prospective students. SHSU, situated in Huntsville, Texas, excels in student diversity, with a larger international student population and a higher percentage of Hispanic students. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, with popular majors such as Business, Education, and Nursing. While UCA has a slightly higher graduation rate (58%) than SHSU (56%), both institutions provide ample opportunities for academic success and career preparation. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions between these two esteemed universities and make an informed decision about your educational journey.

	Sam Houston State University	University of Central Arkansas
Overview
Location	Huntsville, Texas	Conway, Arkansas
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	73.0%	71.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	96.6%	92.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $45
SAT range	950 - 1120	980 - 1160
ACT range	18 - 23	19 - 26
Students submitting SAT score	57.0%	3.0%
Students submitting ACT score	16.0%	94.0%
Total number of applicants	11,556	6,057
Total number of admissions given out	11,161	5,595
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,908	1,854
Yield rate	26.1%	33.1%
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: $24,612 Out of state: $34,404	In state: $25,219 Out of state: $32,089
Average net price	$14,287	$14,042
Tuition	In state: $5,856 Out of state: $15,648	In state: $6,870 Out of state: $13,740
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,918 Meal plan: $4,650	Room/dormitory: $4,326 Meal plan: $3,570
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	70.0% Average amount $9,492	92.0% Average amount $7,693
Students receiving federal student loan	52.0% Average amount $5,618	51.0% Average amount $5,106
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $14,496	5.0% Average amount $10,426

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	18,288 Men 36.2% Women 63.8%	8,244 Men 39.0% Women 61.0%
Graduate students	3,324 Men 31.7% Women 68.3%	1,861 Men 26.6% Women 73.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	1.4%	7.9%
International students	1.3%	3.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	3,398	3,675
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Texas Florida California Arkansas Illinois	Arkansas Texas Oklahoma Tennessee Alabama

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Education Health Professions Agriculture Communication and Journalism	Health Professions Education Business Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	20:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	57.3%	49.4%
Dropout rate	16.2%	19.1%
Transferred out	23.6%	29.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,284 Year 2: $92,358 Year 3: $96,070 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $72,491 Year 2: $70,736 Year 3: $76,640 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,696 Year 2: $67,548 Year 3: $65,753 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,174 Year 2: $58,842 Year 3: $59,396 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,787 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $57,030 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,827 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $55,240 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,080 Year 2: $45,305 Year 3: $52,677 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,462 Year 2: $47,729 Year 3: $52,542 Library Science, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,140 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $49,838 Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $40,755 Year 2: $48,432 Year 3: $49,837

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University of Central Arkansas (UCA) vs Sam Houston State University (SHSU)

Sam Houston State University

University of Central Arkansas

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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