Western Michigan University (WMU) vs Eastern Illinois University (EIU)

Western Michigan University and Eastern Illinois University, both public institutions with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Western Michigan, located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, boasts a higher acceptance rate (79%) compared to Eastern Illinois' 68%. With a larger student body, Western Michigan offers a more diverse range of academic programs, including popular majors like Business, Engineering, and Health Professions. Eastern Illinois, situated in Charleston, Illinois, excels in programs such as Education, Psychology, and Communication. While Western Michigan's graduation rate stands at 58%, Eastern Illinois follows closely with a 56% graduation rate. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Eastern Illinois University	Western Michigan University
Overview
Location	Charleston, Illinois	Kalamazoo, Michigan
Campus setting	Town: Distant	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%	77.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	71.7%	82.8%
Application fees	$30	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $50
SAT range	900 - 1140	1000 - 1220
ACT range	17 - 23	21 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	56.0%	37.0%
Students submitting ACT score	66.0%	7.0%
Total number of applicants	7,145	18,853
Total number of admissions given out	5,126	15,612
Admitted students who chose to enroll	778	2,112
Yield rate	15.2%	13.5%
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: $25,316 Out of state: $27,684	In state: $27,947 Out of state: $31,281
Average net price	$13,669	$19,749
Tuition	In state: $9,472 Out of state: $11,840	In state: $13,334 Out of state: $16,668
Room & board	$10,548	$10,884
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan Other alternative tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $10,756	95.0% Average amount $6,352
Students receiving federal student loan	62.0% Average amount $5,140	49.0% Average amount $5,188
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $10,570	10.0% Average amount $15,132

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	6,903 Men 40.6% Women 59.4%	14,587 Men 50.1% Women 49.9%
Graduate students	1,705 Men 37.5% Women 62.5%	3,679 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	9.6%	23.8%
International students	4.6%	7.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	4,304	5,130
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Illinois Indiana Ohio Missouri Texas	Michigan Illinois Indiana Wisconsin Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Engineering Technologies Health Professions Communication and Journalism	Health Professions Education Engineering Business Multidisciplinary Studies
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	50.7%	56.3%
Dropout rate	15.9%	14.6%
Transferred out	32.6%	25.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,607 Year 2: $54,386 Year 3: $65,635 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $63,284 Year 2: $59,350 Year 3: $64,761 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $40,936 Year 2: $61,020 Year 3: $64,356 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,964 Year 2: $50,677 Year 3: $61,384 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,053 Year 2: $46,673 Year 3: $59,023 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,088 Year 2: $50,856 Year 3: $57,084 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,985 Year 2: $53,894 Year 3: $56,317 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $49,482 Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,479 Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $47,585 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,850 Year 2: $40,768 Year 3: $47,302	Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $102,212 Year 2: $103,274 Year 3: $105,179 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $77,392 Year 2: $73,801 Year 3: $88,332 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $84,653 Year 3: $87,977 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,143 Year 2: $65,945 Year 3: $79,982 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $69,346 Year 2: $70,456 Year 3: $77,922 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,069 Year 2: $73,562 Year 3: $77,263 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,557 Year 2: $70,776 Year 3: $75,447 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,559 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $73,968 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,118 Year 2: $63,749 Year 3: $72,465 Engineering-Related Fields (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,803 Year 2: $59,576 Year 3: $69,288

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