CSU-FC vs CSU San Marcos

Envision yourself immersed in the vibrant college towns of Fort Collins, Colorado, and San Marcos, California, home to Colorado State University-Fort Collins (CSU) and California State University-San Marcos (CSUSM), respectively. While both universities offer a wealth of opportunities, they possess distinct characteristics that may influence your academic journey. CSU boasts a lower acceptance rate, indicating a more selective admissions process, while CSUSM welcomes a larger proportion of its applicants. Explore the diverse academic landscapes of these institutions, with CSU excelling in fields like engineering, business, and agriculture, and CSUSM showcasing strengths in business, psychology, and criminal justice. Discover the unique student demographics, with CSU hosting a slightly larger student body and a higher percentage of male students, while CSUSM fosters a more balanced gender ratio. Delve into the comparison table to uncover further insights into these universities' graduation rates, tuition fees, and other crucial factors, empowering you to make an informed decision that aligns with your aspirations

	California State University-San Marcos	Colorado State University-Fort Collins
Overview
Location	San Marcos, California	Fort Collins, Colorado
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: Midsize
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%	86.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	93.3%	89.6%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $60
SAT range	N/A	1080 - 1290
ACT range	N/A	23 - 29
Students submitting SAT score		38.0%
Students submitting ACT score		17.0%
Total number of applicants	13,986	31,586
Total number of admissions given out	13,049	28,314
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,413	5,197
Yield rate	18.5%	18.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $22,366 Out of state: $34,246	In state: $27,174 Out of state: $46,456
Average net price	$14,296	$18,320
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	In state: $9,709 Out of state: $28,991
Room & board		Room/dormitory: $6,186 Meal plan: $6,830
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	70.0% Average amount $9,298	70.0% Average amount $10,034
Students receiving federal student loan	22.0% Average amount $4,734	36.0% Average amount $5,018
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $12,988	7.0% Average amount $19,976

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	14,963 Men 38.4% Women 61.6%	24,954 Men 45.6% Women 54.4%
Graduate students	1,292 Men 28.4% Women 71.6%	7,632 Men 43.7% Women 56.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	1.5%	34.3%
International students	3.4%	4.8%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	1,547	8,300
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Colorado Washington Virginia Arizona	Colorado California Texas Illinois Washington

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences Computer and Information Science Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Business Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences Agriculture Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio	25:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	59.2%	69.1%
Dropout rate	33.6%	18.5%
Transferred out	2.6%	10.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $107,746 Year 2: $103,555 Year 3: $111,324 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $90,827 Year 2: $88,074 Year 3: $90,666 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $72,843 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $83,791 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $66,941 Year 3: $72,765 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,962 Year 2: $71,015 Year 3: $71,818 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,769 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $68,571 Physics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $65,899 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,297 Year 2: $49,520 Year 3: $62,797 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,252 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $59,957 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $45,864 Year 3: $57,022	Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $94,915 Year 3: $106,015 Engineering, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $82,613 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $95,296 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,379 Year 2: $75,706 Year 3: $93,827 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $98,747 Year 2: $80,301 Year 3: $92,215 Chemistry (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $73,256 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $89,957 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,253 Year 2: $73,070 Year 3: $88,889 Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $77,603 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $88,546 Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $76,387 Year 2: $83,546 Year 3: $86,814 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,629 Year 2: $71,778 Year 3: $83,089 Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,849 Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $80,723

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