Virginia State vs University of the District of Columbia

Virginia State University (VSU) and the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) are two historically Black universities with rich histories and unique offerings. VSU, located in Ettrick, Virginia, has a higher acceptance rate (73%) compared to UDC's 58%, making it a more accessible option for students. UDC, situated in the heart of Washington, D.C., boasts a more diverse student body, with 80% of its students identifying as African American compared to VSU's 72%. Both universities offer a range of popular majors, including nursing, business, and education, but VSU has a slightly higher graduation rate (48%) than UDC (42%). Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve deeper into the differences between these two institutions and make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	University of the District of Columbia	Virginia State University
Overview
Location	Washington, District of Columbia	Petersburg, Virginia
Campus setting	City: Large	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	53.0%	76.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	Open Admission	96.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	830 - 1040
ACT range	N/A	15 - 21
Students submitting SAT score		21.0%
Students submitting ACT score		3.0%
Total number of applicants		9,978
Total number of admissions given out		9,587
Admitted students who chose to enroll		920
Yield rate		9.6%
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	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $30,026 Out of state: $36,878	In state: $23,673 Out of state: $35,428
Average net price	$12,354	$16,770
Tuition	In state: $5,292 Out of state: $12,144	In state: $5,540 Out of state: $16,542
Room & board		Room/dormitory: $6,744 Meal plan: $4,800
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	65.0% Average amount $7,657	92.0% Average amount $11,499
Students receiving federal student loan	29.0% Average amount $5,107	90.0% Average amount $7,480
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $3,285	2.0% Average amount $3,092

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,947 Men 37.0% Women 63.0%	3,899 Men 40.1% Women 59.9%
Graduate students	529 Men 39.9% Women 60.1%	401 Men 30.4% Women 69.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	18.1%	31.9%
International students	5.5%	0.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	N/A	2,360
First year students are required to live on campus?	N/A	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	District of Columbia Maryland Virginia New Jersey California	Virginia New York Maryland District of Columbia New Jersey

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Legal Profession Education Health Professions Engineering	Business Psychology Education Communication and Journalism Law Enforcement and Firefighting
Students to faculty ratio	8:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	25.0%	47.8%
Dropout rate	52.7%	25.1%
Transferred out	18.2%	22.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $67,644 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,611 Year 2: $52,289 Year 3: $51,504 Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,832 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $42,606 Education, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $36,817 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,490 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $35,801 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $29,409 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $15,243 Non-Professional General Legal Studies (Undergraduate) (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,990 Year 2: $39,927 Year 3: N/A Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $60,091 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Legal Professions and Studies, Other (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,715 Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $36,141 Year 3: N/A	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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