University of Puget Sound vs Samuel Merritt University

University of Puget Sound and Samuel Merritt University, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Puget Sound, a private liberal arts university in Tacoma, Washington, boasts a 75% acceptance rate and a diverse student body representing 49 states and 70 countries. Samuel Merritt, a private health sciences university in Oakland, California, has a more selective admissions process with a 65% acceptance rate and a student body primarily focused on healthcare professions. While both universities offer a range of undergraduate and graduate programs, Puget Sound is known for its strong liberal arts foundation, while Samuel Merritt excels in health sciences education. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about the differences in acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates, and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and career goals.

	Samuel Merritt University	University of Puget Sound
Overview
Location	Oakland, California	Tacoma, Washington
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Midsize
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Trimester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate		88.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	N/A	88.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $90	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $60
SAT range	N/A	1150 - 1370
ACT range	N/A	26 - 32
Students submitting SAT score		31.0%
Students submitting ACT score		20.0%
Total number of applicants		5,025
Total number of admissions given out		4,437
Admitted students who chose to enroll		409
Yield rate		9.2%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)		N/A
High school GPA	N/A	Required
Recommendation letters	N/A	Required
High school transcript	N/A	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	N/A	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price		$73,134
Average net price		$28,221
Tuition		$55,390
Room & board		Room/dormitory: $7,450 Meal plan: $6,500
Available payment plans		Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)		99.0% Average amount $31,818
Students receiving federal student loan		40.0% Average amount $5,021
Students taking out private loans		4.0% Average amount $19,731

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	728 Men 20.6% Women 79.4%	1,866 Men 42.6% Women 57.4%
Graduate students	1,320 Men 26.1% Women 73.9%	307 Men 21.5% Women 78.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	74.7%
International students	N/A	0.2%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	N/A	1,726
First year students are required to live on campus?	N/A	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	California Washington Oregon Colorado Minnesota

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions	Health Professions Education Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	N/A	74.2%
Dropout rate	N/A	3.7%
Transferred out	N/A	22.1%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $123,663 Year 2: $139,136 Year 3: $143,948 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $101,572 Year 2: $110,846 Year 3: $121,792 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $124,643 Year 2: $116,083 Year 3: $121,450 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $80,463 Year 2: $73,635 Year 3: $73,513 Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $55,601 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $72,593 Medicine (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $56,189 Year 3: N/A Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $95,289 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,730 Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $84,211 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $73,526 Year 2: $73,769 Year 3: $75,695 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,518 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $66,616 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $60,899 Year 2: $54,331 Year 3: $62,873 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,324 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $58,198 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,383 Year 2: $41,789 Year 3: $52,400 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,980 Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $49,196 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,816 Year 2: $31,848 Year 3: $43,453 Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,720 Year 2: $30,047 Year 3: $42,288 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,004 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $41,574

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