Western Illinois University (WIU) vs Murray State

Western Illinois University and Murray State University, both public institutions with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Western Illinois, located in Macomb, Illinois, boasts a higher acceptance rate (84%) compared to Murray State's 78% in Murray, Kentucky. While Western Illinois excels in programs like Business, Education, and Health Professions, Murray State shines in fields such as Agriculture, Engineering, and Nursing. Explore the detailed comparison table to delve into further differences, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and more, to determine which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Murray State University	Western Illinois University
Overview
Location	Murray, Kentucky	Macomb, Illinois
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Town: Remote
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%	72.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	85.2%	72.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $40	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30
SAT range	960 - 1200	N/A
ACT range	20 - 27	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	16.0%
Students submitting ACT score	86.0%
Total number of applicants	9,144	7,156
Total number of admissions given out	7,787	5,187
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,395	920
Yield rate	17.9%	17.7%
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: $26,219 Out of state: $35,495	$29,140
Average net price	$11,237	$11,666
Tuition	In state: $8,040 Out of state: $17,316	$9,238
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,538 Meal plan: $4,330	Room/dormitory: $6,240 Meal plan: $3,952
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $11,753	94.0% Average amount $13,937
Students receiving federal student loan	47.0% Average amount $6,997	50.0% Average amount $5,417
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $10,075	5.0% Average amount $9,533

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	7,651 Men 37.5% Women 62.5%	5,394 Men 43.5% Women 56.5%
Graduate students	1,763 Men 35.1% Women 64.9%	2,061 Men 42.9% Women 57.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	9.7%
International students	5.4%	8.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	3,064	3,083
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	Illinois Iowa Missouri Wisconsin Indiana

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Business Agriculture Engineering Technologies	Education Business Liberal Arts Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Health Professions
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	55.9%	50.9%
Dropout rate	42.8%	16.5%
Transferred out	N/A	31.2%
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	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,427 Year 2: $63,166 Year 3: $79,149 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,346 Year 2: $81,702 Year 3: $72,457 Engineering Technology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,220 Year 2: $60,771 Year 3: $65,823 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $64,904 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,827 Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $64,741 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,966 Year 2: $58,334 Year 3: $63,350 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,154 Year 2: $49,729 Year 3: $54,520 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,063 Year 2: $43,612 Year 3: $53,379 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,058 Year 2: $48,667 Year 3: $52,271 Educational/Instructional Media Design (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,853 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $51,827

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Murray State

Jacksonville State University