UMD Duluth vs Valley City State University (VCSU)

When it comes to higher education, University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD) and Valley City State University (VCSU) offer distinct experiences for prospective students. UMD, a public research university, boasts a higher acceptance rate (78%) compared to VCSU's selective admissions (68%). UMD's larger student body reflects its diverse demographics, while VCSU's smaller size fosters a close-knit community. Both universities offer a range of popular majors, with UMD excelling in fields like engineering, business, and nursing, and VCSU specializing in education, agriculture, and aviation. While UMD's higher graduation rate (62%) indicates a strong commitment to student success, VCSU's lower cost of attendance may appeal to budget-conscious students. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	University of Minnesota-Duluth	Valley City State University
Overview
Location	Duluth, Minnesota	Valley City, North Dakota
Campus setting	City: Small	Town: Remote
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	77.0%	61.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	79.5%	81.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $35 Graduate: $35
SAT range	1160 - 1270	935 - 1190
ACT range	22 - 28	17 - 23
Students submitting SAT score	1.0%	7.0%
Students submitting ACT score	47.0%	68.0%
Total number of applicants	9,610	442
Total number of admissions given out	7,644	360
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,029	196
Yield rate	26.5%	54.4%
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: $26,194 Out of state: $31,492	In state: $20,016 Out of state: $24,790
Average net price	$16,960	$13,243
Tuition	In state: $12,420 Out of state: $17,718	In state: $6,364 Out of state: $11,138
Room & board	$8,796	Room/dormitory: $2,505 Meal plan: $4,414
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	72.0% Average amount $7,817	99.0% Average amount $5,907
Students receiving federal student loan	52.0% Average amount $5,124	66.0% Average amount $4,794
Students taking out private loans	19.0% Average amount $12,751	17.0% Average amount $6,743

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,024 Men 50.4% Women 49.6%	1,523 Men 41.8% Women 58.2%
Graduate students	860 Men 40.5% Women 59.5%	163 Men 32.5% Women 67.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	12.9%	36.9%
International students	1.6%	1.3%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	2,962	462
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Minnesota Wisconsin North Dakota Illinois Colorado	North Dakota Minnesota Alaska Hawaii Colorado

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Business Education Public Administration and Social Service Visual & Performing Arts	Education Visual & Performing Arts Business Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Liberal Arts
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	64.7%	53.2%
Dropout rate	8.9%	17.9%
Transferred out	25.6%	28.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,504 Year 2: $64,940 Year 3: $72,817 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,019 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $72,678 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,483 Year 2: $62,012 Year 3: $70,314 Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,217 Year 2: $61,218 Year 3: $70,085 Statistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,767 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $65,743 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,804 Year 2: $56,979 Year 3: $65,374 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,744 Year 2: $53,244 Year 3: $62,864 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,990 Year 2: $52,651 Year 3: $61,141 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,377 Year 2: $61,020 Year 3: $60,088 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,318 Year 2: $46,478 Year 3: $57,955	Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,075 Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $56,925 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,447 Year 2: $43,000 Year 3: $45,538 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,584 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $43,994 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,217 Year 2: $37,537 Year 3: $43,180 Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,083 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $41,045 Human Services, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: N/A

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

UMD Duluth vs Valley City State University (VCSU)

University of Minnesota-Duluth

Valley City State University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

Compare Similar Colleges

Find Colleges By State

Resources

About