Fairmont State vs West Virginia State University (WVSU)

Fairmont State University and West Virginia State University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning in West Virginia, offer unique educational experiences to prospective students. Fairmont State, located in Fairmont, boasts a higher acceptance rate of 86%, making it a more accessible option for students. West Virginia State, situated in Institute, has a lower acceptance rate of 78%, indicating a more selective admissions process. While Fairmont State excels in popular majors like Business, Education, and Health Professions, West Virginia State shines in fields such as Social Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Engineering. Fairmont State's student body comprises 3,686 undergraduates, while West Virginia State hosts a slightly larger undergraduate population of 4,002. Both universities share a commitment to student success, with graduation rates of 48% and 47% respectively. To help you make an informed decision about your academic journey, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table below, highlighting key differences between these two esteemed universities.

	Fairmont State University	West Virginia State University
Overview
Location	Fairmont, West Virginia	Institute, West Virginia
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: 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	61.0%	56.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	98.8%	96.6%
Application fees	$50	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $28
SAT range	900 - 1090	N/A
ACT range	17 - 23	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	46.0%
Students submitting ACT score	34.0%
Total number of applicants	1,767	2,959
Total number of admissions given out	1,745	2,857
Admitted students who chose to enroll	655	305
Yield rate	37.5%	10.7%
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: $20,914 Out of state: $30,172	In state: $22,677 Out of state: $28,365
Average net price	$11,277	$10,889
Tuition	In state: $5,946 Out of state: $14,992	In state: $7,912 Out of state: $13,600
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,624 Meal plan: $4,574	Room/dormitory: $7,762 Meal plan: $5,314
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	94.0% Average amount $6,593	89.0% Average amount $8,961
Students receiving federal student loan	53.0% Average amount $4,996	49.0% Average amount $7,576
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $11,907	2.0% Average amount $6,704

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,273 Men 40.6% Women 59.4%	3,281 Men 41.9% Women 58.1%
Graduate students	289 Men 32.9% Women 67.1%	134 Men 41.8% Women 58.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	11.1%	22.6%
International students	1.6%	1.6%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	1,058	369
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	West Virginia Pennsylvania Maryland Virginia Ohio	West Virginia Ohio Maryland Georgia

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Engineering Technologies Education Liberal Arts Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Business Law Enforcement and Firefighting Education Liberal Arts Public Administration and Social Service
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	45.4%	29.6%
Dropout rate	33.9%	47.3%
Transferred out	20.6%	19.9%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,279 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $62,993 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,620 Year 2: $63,855 Year 3: $61,157 Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,294 Year 2: $54,153 Year 3: $58,294 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $58,529 Year 2: $56,641 Year 3: $56,475 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $39,809 Year 2: $37,306 Year 3: $43,308 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,042 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: $41,321 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,631 Year 2: $30,409 Year 3: $39,952 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,253 Year 2: $31,189 Year 3: $39,801 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,125 Year 2: $31,495 Year 3: $38,357 Education, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,334 Year 2: $28,816 Year 3: $34,425	Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,198 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $36,756 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,938 Year 2: $29,141 Year 3: $36,314 Social Work (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,771 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $34,416 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,256 Year 2: $27,504 Year 3: $32,672 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,227 Year 2: $26,739 Year 3: $32,224 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,815 Year 2: $28,816 Year 3: $30,768 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,073 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $19,116 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,654 Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $18,771 Year 3: N/A Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,626 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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