Western Michigan University (WMU) vs Michigan State University (MSU)

Western Michigan University (WMU) and Michigan State University (MSU) are two of the most popular public universities in Michigan, each offering a unique educational experience. WMU, located in Kalamazoo, has an acceptance rate of 84%, while MSU, situated in East Lansing, is slightly more selective with an acceptance rate of 70%. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, with WMU excelling in fields like aviation, engineering, and business, and MSU being renowned for its programs in agriculture, engineering, and social sciences. WMU's student body is more diverse, with 30% of students identifying as minorities compared to MSU's 20%. Additionally, WMU has a higher graduation rate of 62% compared to MSU's 60%. To help you make an informed decision about which university is the right fit for you, we have compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between WMU and MSU.

	Michigan State University	Western Michigan University
Overview
Location	East Lansing, Michigan	Kalamazoo, Michigan
Campus setting	City: Small	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	92.0%	77.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	83.3%	82.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1100 - 1320	1000 - 1220
ACT range	23 - 29	21 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	48.0%	37.0%
Students submitting ACT score	16.0%	7.0%
Total number of applicants	50,630	18,853
Total number of admissions given out	42,150	15,612
Admitted students who chose to enroll	9,225	2,112
Yield rate	21.9%	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: $29,734 Out of state: $55,546	In state: $27,947 Out of state: $31,281
Average net price	$8,738	$19,749
Tuition	In state: $14,750 Out of state: $40,562	In state: $13,334 Out of state: $16,668
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,408 Meal plan: $6,268	$10,884
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan Other alternative tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	58.0% Average amount $12,822	95.0% Average amount $6,352
Students receiving federal student loan	34.0% Average amount $4,999	49.0% Average amount $5,188
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $18,093	10.0% Average amount $15,132

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	38,574 Men 48.4% Women 51.6%	14,587 Men 50.1% Women 49.9%
Graduate students	11,085 Men 42.4% Women 57.6%	3,679 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	18.7%	23.8%
International students	8.3%	7.3%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	17,463	5,130
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Michigan Illinois California Ohio New York	Michigan Illinois Indiana Wisconsin Ohio

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

Outcome
Graduation rate	82.1%	56.3%
Dropout rate	7.8%	14.6%
Transferred out	9.8%	25.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $126,500 Year 2: $123,886 Year 3: $132,790 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,863 Year 2: $98,481 Year 3: $108,546 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,313 Year 2: $89,435 Year 3: $101,511 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,361 Year 2: $96,183 Year 3: $100,492 Educational Administration and Supervision (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $101,072 Year 3: $97,714 Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $79,294 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $93,263 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $84,609 Year 2: $83,915 Year 3: $92,316 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $83,457 Year 2: $86,129 Year 3: $91,721 Food Science and Technology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $81,178 Year 2: $83,915 Year 3: $89,761 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $75,462 Year 2: $80,133 Year 3: $84,869	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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Western Michigan University (WMU) vs Michigan State University (MSU)

Michigan State University

Western Michigan University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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