Western Michigan University (WMU) vs Northern Illinois University (NIU)

Western Michigan University (WMU) and Northern Illinois University (NIU) are two public universities located in the Midwestern United States, offering a wide range of academic programs and opportunities. While they share some similarities, there are also several key differences between the two institutions. WMU has a slightly higher acceptance rate (79%) compared to NIU (73%), and its student body is more diverse, with a larger international student population. NIU, on the other hand, has a higher graduation rate (62%) than WMU (59%). Both universities offer popular majors in fields such as business, education, and engineering, but WMU has a stronger focus on health sciences and NIU has a stronger focus on the arts. 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 WMU and NIU.

	Northern Illinois University	Western Michigan University
Overview
Location	Dekalb, Illinois	Kalamazoo, Michigan
Campus setting	Suburb: 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	67.0%	77.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	70.4%	82.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $60	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	1000 - 1220
ACT range	N/A	21 - 27
Students submitting SAT score		37.0%
Students submitting ACT score		7.0%
Total number of applicants	22,602	18,853
Total number of admissions given out	15,922	15,612
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,285	2,112
Yield rate	14.4%	13.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$27,218	In state: $27,947 Out of state: $31,281
Average net price	$13,265	$19,749
Tuition	$9,606	In state: $13,334 Out of state: $16,668
Room & board	$11,098	$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)	98.0% Average amount $13,008	95.0% Average amount $6,352
Students receiving federal student loan	58.0% Average amount $5,313	49.0% Average amount $5,188
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $11,726	10.0% Average amount $15,132

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	11,834 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%	14,587 Men 50.1% Women 49.9%
Graduate students	4,400 Men 40.8% Women 59.2%	3,679 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	23.8%
International students	4.6%	7.3%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	4,500	5,130
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Michigan Illinois Indiana Wisconsin Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Business Engineering Computer and Information Science	Health Professions Education Engineering Business Multidisciplinary Studies
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	50.8%	56.3%
Dropout rate	46.9%	14.6%
Transferred out	N/A	25.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $118,716 Year 2: $98,186 Year 3: $125,726 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,047 Year 2: $88,920 Year 3: $96,563 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,161 Year 2: $91,587 Year 3: $94,214 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,013 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $76,350 Computer Science (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,606 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $75,980 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,752 Year 2: $64,150 Year 3: $74,168 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,234 Year 2: $66,989 Year 3: $74,151 Psychology, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $57,535 Year 2: $68,499 Year 3: $73,940 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $70,453 Year 2: $69,151 Year 3: $72,792 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $63,291 Year 2: $63,685 Year 3: $72,760	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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