Wayne State vs Northern Illinois University (NIU)

Wayne State University and Northern Illinois University, both esteemed public institutions, offer distinct educational experiences. Wayne State, located in the heart of Detroit, boasts a diverse student body and a wide range of academic programs, including notable strengths in medicine, engineering, and business. In contrast, Northern Illinois University, situated in DeKalb, is known for its strong teacher education and nursing programs, along with a focus on undergraduate research. While Wayne State has a higher acceptance rate, Northern Illinois offers a more affordable tuition. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover further differences in acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates, helping you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Northern Illinois University	Wayne State University
Overview
Location	Dekalb, Illinois	Detroit, Michigan
Campus setting	Suburb: 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	67.0%	81.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	70.4%	63.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $60	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	1030 - 1260
ACT range	N/A	22 - 28
Students submitting SAT score		48.0%
Students submitting ACT score		7.0%
Total number of applicants	22,602	15,181
Total number of admissions given out	15,922	9,603
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,285	2,732
Yield rate	14.4%	28.4%
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	$27,218	In state: $32,193 Out of state: $48,163
Average net price	$13,265	$15,710
Tuition	$9,606	In state: $12,376 Out of state: $28,346
Room & board	$11,098	Room/dormitory: $7,463 Meal plan: $4,280
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $13,008	98.0% Average amount $10,091
Students receiving federal student loan	58.0% Average amount $5,313	38.0% Average amount $4,807
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $11,726	3.0% Average amount $11,147

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	11,834 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	16,839 Men 40.6% Women 59.4%
Graduate students	4,400 Men 40.8% Women 59.2%	8,080 Men 40.0% Women 60.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	1.8%
International students	4.6%	4.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	4,500	3,192
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Michigan Ohio Illinois New York Washington

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Engineering Computer and Information Science	Health Professions Business Engineering Public Administration and Social Service Education
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	14:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	50.8%	55.8%
Dropout rate	46.9%	38.5%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $118,716 Year 2: $98,186 Year 3: $125,726 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,047 Year 2: $88,920 Year 3: $96,563 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,161 Year 2: $91,587 Year 3: $94,214 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,013 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $76,350 Computer Science (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,606 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $75,980 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,752 Year 2: $64,150 Year 3: $74,168 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,234 Year 2: $66,989 Year 3: $74,151 Psychology, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $57,535 Year 2: $68,499 Year 3: $73,940 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $70,453 Year 2: $69,151 Year 3: $72,792 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $63,291 Year 2: $63,685 Year 3: $72,760	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $109,713 Year 2: $118,922 Year 3: $120,470 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $111,568 Year 2: $105,465 Year 3: $119,721 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,273 Year 2: $105,037 Year 3: $108,496 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $80,257 Year 2: $90,079 Year 3: $91,709 Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,278 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $90,813 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,864 Year 2: $79,473 Year 3: $89,687 Civil Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,116 Year 2: $72,510 Year 3: $88,775 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,198 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $86,111 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,849 Year 2: $75,921 Year 3: $85,185 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,406 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $79,412

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