University of Nevada-Reno (UNR) vs Iowa State

Nestled in the heart of the Sierra Nevada mountains, the University of Nevada-Reno (UNR) and Iowa State University (ISU) in the vibrant city of Ames, Iowa, stand as two distinct academic powerhouses with unique offerings. UNR boasts a higher acceptance rate, welcoming a more diverse student body, while ISU maintains a slightly higher graduation rate. Both universities excel in different areas of study, with UNR excelling in engineering, nursing, and business, and ISU leading in agriculture, engineering, and veterinary medicine. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details about these two esteemed institutions, including their acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates, to help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Iowa State University	University of Nevada-Reno
Overview
Location	Ames, Iowa	Reno, Nevada
Campus setting	City: Small	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	88.0%	78.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	91.1%	88.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $60	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $60
SAT range	1083 - 1330	1060 - 1270
ACT range	21 - 28	20 - 26
Students submitting SAT score	13.0%	12.0%
Students submitting ACT score	63.0%	60.0%
Total number of applicants	20,357	9,421
Total number of admissions given out	18,550	8,306
Admitted students who chose to enroll	5,387	3,412
Yield rate	29.0%	41.1%
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: $22,152 Out of state: $37,964	In state: $26,796 Out of state: $42,888
Average net price	$15,422	$16,398
Tuition	In state: $8,324 Out of state: $24,136	In state: $7,470 Out of state: $23,562
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,590 Meal plan: $4,498	Room/dormitory: $5,850 Meal plan: $5,792
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	87.0% Average amount $8,833	86.0% Average amount $7,232
Students receiving federal student loan	47.0% Average amount $5,202	29.0% Average amount $5,001
Students taking out private loans	11.0% Average amount $11,630	4.0% Average amount $12,013

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	25,808 Men 56.1% Women 43.9%	17,025 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%
Graduate students	4,900 Men 50.6% Women 49.4%	4,009 Men 39.3% Women 60.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	26.1%
International students	8.2%	2.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	9,400	3,524
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Nevada California Hawaii Oregon Washington

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Agriculture Education Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Health Professions Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Public Administration and Social Service Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	18:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	76.0%	62.7%
Dropout rate	6.1%	34.1%
Transferred out	16.7%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $85,739 Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $101,292 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $80,956 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $95,081 Industrial Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,120 Year 2: $89,059 Year 3: $92,521 Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $77,573 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $85,108 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,299 Year 2: $73,321 Year 3: $83,452 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,598 Year 2: $73,839 Year 3: $83,292 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,184 Year 2: $71,734 Year 3: $81,196 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $83,223 Year 2: $70,680 Year 3: $79,916 Construction Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,580 Year 2: $70,083 Year 3: $77,479 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,534 Year 2: $67,156 Year 3: $76,113	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,016 Year 2: $104,192 Year 3: $106,685 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $79,284 Year 3: $89,037 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $79,780 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $86,482 Mining and Mineral Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $82,783 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,402 Year 2: $67,473 Year 3: $78,990 Civil Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $60,203 Year 2: $66,169 Year 3: $77,729 Psychology, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $57,770 Year 3: $75,701 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,757 Year 2: $69,161 Year 3: $74,927 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,629 Year 2: $67,324 Year 3: $73,298 Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $56,591 Year 2: $57,995 Year 3: $71,617

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