West Virginia University (WVU) vs Murray State

West Virginia University (WVU) and Murray State University (MSU) are two distinct institutions of higher learning with unique characteristics and offerings. WVU, located in Morgantown, West Virginia, is a public research university with a larger student body and a wider range of academic programs compared to MSU. On the other hand, MSU, situated in Murray, Kentucky, is a public comprehensive university known for its smaller class sizes and strong focus on undergraduate education. While both universities share similarities in terms of their commitment to academic excellence and student success, they differ in several key aspects, including acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover which university better aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Murray State University	West Virginia University
Overview
Location	Murray, Kentucky	Morgantown, West Virginia
Campus setting	Town: Remote	City: Small
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%	81.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	85.2%	89.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $40	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $60
SAT range	960 - 1200	1030 - 1230
ACT range	20 - 27	21 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	16.0%	57.0%
Students submitting ACT score	86.0%	38.0%
Total number of applicants	9,144	17,074
Total number of admissions given out	7,787	15,336
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,395	4,313
Yield rate	17.9%	28.1%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $26,219 Out of state: $35,495	In state: $21,756 Out of state: $38,100
Average net price	$11,237	$13,422
Tuition	In state: $8,040 Out of state: $17,316	In state: $8,976 Out of state: $25,320
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,538 Meal plan: $4,330	Room/dormitory: $6,184 Meal plan: $5,504
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $11,753	89.0% Average amount $10,867
Students receiving federal student loan	47.0% Average amount $6,997	52.0% Average amount $5,294
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $10,075	15.0% Average amount $16,332

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	7,651 Men 37.5% Women 62.5%	19,599 Men 47.9% Women 52.1%
Graduate students	1,763 Men 35.1% Women 64.9%	5,875 Men 44.4% Women 55.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	55.3%
International students	5.4%	5.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	3,064	6,956
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Illinois Tennessee Indiana Missouri	West Virginia Pennsylvania Virginia Maryland Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Business Agriculture Engineering Technologies	Health Professions Business Engineering Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	18:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	55.9%	63.9%
Dropout rate	42.8%	11.3%
Transferred out	N/A	22.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $162,817 Year 3: $178,780 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,792 Year 2: $79,473 Year 3: $88,757 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,448 Year 2: $66,969 Year 3: $69,761 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,888 Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $66,008 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,643 Year 2: $59,485 Year 3: $65,410 Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,121 Year 2: $55,964 Year 3: $59,977 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,148 Year 2: $58,142 Year 3: $55,771 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $44,974 Year 2: $59,485 Year 3: $54,238 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,117 Year 2: $56,641 Year 3: $52,217 Information Science/Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,964 Year 2: $50,856 Year 3: $50,840	Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $112,323 Year 2: $125,015 Year 3: $143,709 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $103,140 Year 2: $118,155 Year 3: $119,358 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $93,573 Year 2: $94,763 Year 3: $96,536 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $77,732 Year 2: $81,997 Year 3: $91,425 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,711 Year 2: $81,333 Year 3: $82,001 Petroleum Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,468 Year 2: $61,303 Year 3: $79,782 Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,292 Year 2: $68,047 Year 3: $77,798 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,506 Year 2: $62,012 Year 3: $77,273 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,040 Year 2: $65,238 Year 3: $76,205 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,477 Year 2: $66,069 Year 3: $76,022

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