West Virginia State University (WVSU) vs East Tennessee State University (ETSU)

West Virginia State University (WVSU) and East Tennessee State University (ETSU) are two public universities located in the Appalachian region, offering a wide range of academic programs and opportunities. WVSU, founded in 1891, is a historically black university with a strong focus on undergraduate education, while ETSU, established in 1911, is a comprehensive university with a diverse student body and a wide range of graduate programs. Both universities offer affordable tuition rates and a supportive learning environment, but they differ in terms of acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover which university aligns best with your academic goals and personal preferences.

	East Tennessee State University	West Virginia State University
Overview
Location	Johnson City, Tennessee	Institute, West Virginia
Campus setting	City: Small	Suburb: Midsize
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%	56.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	87.4%	96.6%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $55	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $28
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	19 - 26	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score	80.0%
Total number of applicants	8,563	2,959
Total number of admissions given out	7,484	2,857
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,856	305
Yield rate	24.8%	10.7%
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: $28,704 Out of state: $32,006	In state: $22,677 Out of state: $28,365
Average net price	$14,482	$10,889
Tuition	In state: $7,486 Out of state: $10,788	In state: $7,912 Out of state: $13,600
Room & board	$9,582	Room/dormitory: $7,762 Meal plan: $5,314
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	97.0% Average amount $9,541	89.0% Average amount $8,961
Students receiving federal student loan	34.0% Average amount $6,489	49.0% Average amount $7,576
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $13,366	2.0% Average amount $6,704

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	10,316 Men 38.3% Women 61.7%	3,281 Men 41.9% Women 58.1%
Graduate students	2,987 Men 30.7% Women 69.3%	134 Men 41.8% Women 58.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	22.1%	22.6%
International students	2.0%	1.6%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Suburb: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	2,833	369
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Tennessee North Carolina Virginia South Carolina Georgia	West Virginia Ohio Maryland Georgia

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Public Administration and Social Service Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Business	Business Law Enforcement and Firefighting Education Liberal Arts Public Administration and Social Service
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	50.6%	29.6%
Dropout rate	21.3%	47.3%
Transferred out	25.2%	19.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $105,882 Year 2: $117,477 Year 3: $121,003 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $87,648 Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $101,627 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,704 Year 2: $87,604 Year 3: $92,942 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $69,704 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $77,994 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $71,980 Year 2: $68,592 Year 3: $75,044 Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $53,417 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $71,655 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $48,748 Year 2: $54,748 Year 3: $69,192 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,234 Year 2: $56,867 Year 3: $66,513 Public Health (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $45,737 Year 2: $44,971 Year 3: $59,138 Engineering Technology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,039 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $58,679	Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,198 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $36,756 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,938 Year 2: $29,141 Year 3: $36,314 Social Work (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,771 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $34,416 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,256 Year 2: $27,504 Year 3: $32,672 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,227 Year 2: $26,739 Year 3: $32,224 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,815 Year 2: $28,816 Year 3: $30,768 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,073 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $19,116 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,654 Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $18,771 Year 3: N/A Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,626 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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