Virginia State vs Prairie View

Virginia State University (VSU) and Prairie View A & M University (PVAMU) stand as two prominent Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with rich histories and distinct offerings. VSU, located in Ettrick, Virginia, boasts a smaller student body and a higher acceptance rate compared to PVAMU in Prairie View, Texas. While both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate and graduate programs, VSU excels in fields like business, education, and social sciences, while PVAMU shines in engineering, agriculture, and nursing. Explore the detailed comparison table to delve into further differences, including student demographics, graduation rates, and additional program highlights, to help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Prairie View A & M University	Virginia State University
Overview
Location	Prairie View, Texas	Petersburg, Virginia
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: 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	75.0%	76.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	77.0%	96.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $50
SAT range	840 - 1050	830 - 1040
ACT range	18 - 20	15 - 21
Students submitting SAT score	65.0%	21.0%
Students submitting ACT score	29.0%	3.0%
Total number of applicants	6,753	9,978
Total number of admissions given out	5,200	9,587
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,811	920
Yield rate	34.8%	9.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $24,849 Out of state: $40,424	In state: $23,673 Out of state: $35,428
Average net price	$14,927	$16,770
Tuition	In state: $7,387 Out of state: $22,590	In state: $5,540 Out of state: $16,542
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,130 Meal plan: $2,969	Room/dormitory: $6,744 Meal plan: $4,800
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	92.0% Average amount $13,391	92.0% Average amount $11,499
Students receiving federal student loan	67.0% Average amount $5,195	90.0% Average amount $7,480
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $16,925	2.0% Average amount $3,092

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,444 Men 32.1% Women 67.9%	3,899 Men 40.1% Women 59.9%
Graduate students	956 Men 37.1% Women 62.9%	401 Men 30.4% Women 69.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	31.9%
International students	2.5%	0.7%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	4,808	2,360
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Virginia New York Maryland District of Columbia New Jersey

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Engineering Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Business Psychology Education Communication and Journalism Law Enforcement and Firefighting
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	41.6%	47.8%
Dropout rate	26.5%	25.1%
Transferred out	27.3%	22.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,341 Year 2: $90,049 Year 3: $100,710 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,240 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $82,296 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,439 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $78,974 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,171 Year 2: $72,891 Year 3: $76,074 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,650 Year 2: $69,757 Year 3: $73,106 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,804 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $71,448 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $67,982 Year 2: $54,109 Year 3: $66,754 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,156 Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $57,553 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,531 Year 2: $53,984 Year 3: $55,574 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,438 Year 2: $46,478 Year 3: $54,487	Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $60,198 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,564 Year 2: $32,382 Year 3: $41,446 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,514 Year 2: $37,424 Year 3: $40,545 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,671 Year 2: $25,967 Year 3: $39,545 Hospitality Administration/Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,213 Year 2: $23,649 Year 3: $35,949 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,745 Year 2: $28,816 Year 3: $35,132 Social Work (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,882 Year 2: $33,281 Year 3: $34,139 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $21,298 Year 2: $25,615 Year 3: $30,192 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $27,185 Year 2: $24,035 Year 3: $29,021 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,290 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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