Bridgewater State vs Governors State

Bridgewater State University and Governors State University, both public institutions with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Bridgewater State, located in Massachusetts, boasts a higher acceptance rate (83%) compared to Governors State's 75% in Illinois. While Bridgewater State excels in fields like Education, Psychology, and Business, Governors State shines in Criminal Justice, Social Work, and Public Administration. Bridgewater State's student body is more diverse, with a higher percentage of female and international students. In terms of graduation rates, Bridgewater State has a slight edge, with 62% of students completing their degrees within six years, compared to Governors State's 58%. 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.

	Bridgewater State University	Governors State University
Overview
Location	Bridgewater, Massachusetts	University Park, Illinois
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Rural: Fringe
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	79.0%	48.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	86.4%	52.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $50
SAT range	1010 - 1200	830 - 1060
ACT range	19 - 28	16 - 22
Students submitting SAT score	18.0%	21.0%
Students submitting ACT score	1.0%	2.0%
Total number of applicants	8,881	1,168
Total number of admissions given out	7,671	608
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,382	194
Yield rate	18.0%	31.9%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $29,164 Out of state: $35,304	In state: $25,746 Out of state: $33,258
Average net price	$12,744	$9,943
Tuition	In state: $910 Out of state: $7,050	In state: $7,512 Out of state: $15,024
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,256 Meal plan: $4,576	Room/dormitory: $7,729 Meal plan: $3,000
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	74.0% Average amount $7,617	88.0% Average amount $10,791
Students receiving federal student loan	81.0% Average amount $3,681	41.0% Average amount $5,514
Students taking out private loans	13.0% Average amount $12,080	1.0% Average amount $5,587

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,369 Men 40.7% Women 59.3%	2,709 Men 36.5% Women 63.5%
Graduate students	1,573 Men 23.2% Women 76.8%	1,686 Men 31.7% Women 68.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	5.2%
International students	0.6%	7.3%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Rural: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	3,304	272
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Mississippi Rhode Island Connecticut New Hampshire Maine	Illinois Indiana Florida Michigan Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Health Professions Public Administration and Social Service Business Psychology	Health Professions Business Computer and Information Science Psychology Liberal Arts
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	62.4%	15.8%
Dropout rate	35.1%	37.4%
Transferred out	N/A	43.8%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $70,437 Year 2: $68,858 Year 3: $78,114 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,602 Year 2: $60,623 Year 3: $66,570 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,446 Year 2: $54,053 Year 3: $58,775 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $47,202 Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $58,619 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,074 Year 2: $46,869 Year 3: $55,780 Air Transportation (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,151 Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $53,648 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $45,960 Year 2: $45,383 Year 3: $53,145 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,152 Year 2: $50,161 Year 3: $53,025 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,273 Year 2: $44,371 Year 3: $50,098 Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,643 Year 2: $44,170 Year 3: $49,769	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $87,815 Year 2: $93,224 Year 3: $95,009 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,988 Year 2: $81,491 Year 3: $87,571 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,354 Year 2: $73,635 Year 3: $81,519 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $72,424 Year 2: $75,270 Year 3: $77,385 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $67,463 Year 2: $65,695 Year 3: $72,555 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $66,333 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,558 Year 2: $55,151 Year 3: $52,548 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $48,935 Year 3: $51,608 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,325 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: $51,565 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $46,762 Year 2: $44,595 Year 3: $51,524

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Bridgewater State vs Governors State

Bridgewater State University

Governors State University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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