Western Kentucky University (WKU) vs Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (SIUE)

Western Kentucky University (WKU) and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (SIUE) are two public universities located in the Midwestern United States. Both institutions offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, but there are some key differences between the two schools. WKU has a higher acceptance rate and a larger student body, while SIUE has a higher graduation rate and a more diverse student population. Additionally, the two universities offer different popular majors, with WKU being known for its programs in business, education, and health sciences, and SIUE being known for its programs in engineering, nursing, and business. To help you make an informed decision about which university is the best fit for you, we have compiled a comprehensive comparison table that highlights the key differences between WKU and SIUE.

	Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville	Western Kentucky University
Overview
Location	Edwardsville, Illinois	Bowling Green, Kentucky
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	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	74.0%	73.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	98.1%	98.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $40	Undergraduate: $45 Graduate: $65
SAT range	920 - 1160	N/A
ACT range	19 - 26	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	49.0%
Students submitting ACT score	26.0%
Total number of applicants	8,995	7,255
Total number of admissions given out	8,821	7,145
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,992	2,832
Yield rate	22.6%	39.6%
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	$26,007	In state: $27,895 Out of state: $43,903
Average net price	$15,519	$12,395
Tuition	$9,123	In state: $10,992 Out of state: $27,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,290 Meal plan: $4,920	Room/dormitory: $6,744 Meal plan: $3,964
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $8,667	98.0% Average amount $9,576
Students receiving federal student loan	46.0% Average amount $5,063	47.0% Average amount $5,128
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $10,038	5.0% Average amount $9,983

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,967 Men 42.8% Women 57.2%	14,729 Men 37.8% Women 62.2%
Graduate students	3,043 Men 38.1% Women 61.9%	2,021 Men 34.1% Women 65.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	16.6%	N/A
International students	4.1%	1.1%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	3,006	4,942
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Illinois Missouri Texas California Indiana	Tennessee Indiana Illinois Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Engineering Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Health Professions Business Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Public Administration and Social Service
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	18:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	51.8%	53.6%
Dropout rate	11.6%	22.1%
Transferred out	32.8%	22.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $123,885 Year 2: $131,918 Year 3: $131,417 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $115,760 Year 2: $122,038 Year 3: $122,898 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,776 Year 2: $147,557 Year 3: $108,891 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,415 Year 2: $67,240 Year 3: $77,916 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,721 Year 2: $65,979 Year 3: $74,972 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,868 Year 2: $65,889 Year 3: $74,137 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,907 Year 2: $56,931 Year 3: $72,924 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,725 Year 2: $60,452 Year 3: $67,195 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,153 Year 2: $59,534 Year 3: $67,063 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,616 Year 2: $57,770 Year 3: $63,574	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $76,015 Year 2: $86,696 Year 3: $95,431 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $71,960 Year 2: $76,998 Year 3: $77,293 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,199 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $77,197 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,704 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $68,358 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,193 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $66,850 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,992 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $65,815 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,607 Year 2: $61,144 Year 3: $65,553 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,759 Year 2: $51,551 Year 3: $57,443 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $53,729 Year 2: $52,897 Year 3: $56,104 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,172 Year 2: $56,281 Year 3: $55,609

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.

Western Kentucky University (WKU) vs Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (SIUE)

Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville

Western Kentucky University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

Compare Similar Colleges

Find Colleges By State

Resources

About