Illinois State vs Eastern Illinois University (EIU)

Eastern Illinois University (EIU) and Illinois State University (ISU) are two public universities located in Illinois, each offering a unique educational experience. EIU, situated in Charleston, has an acceptance rate of 86%, while ISU, located in Normal, has a slightly higher acceptance rate of 90%. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, with popular majors including Business, Education, and Psychology. EIU boasts a diverse student body, with 38% of its students identifying as minorities, while ISU has a more balanced student body, with 23% minority students. When it comes to graduation rates, ISU takes the lead with a 6-year graduation rate of 60%, compared to EIU's 53%. To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into these aspects and more, providing valuable insights to guide your choice between these two esteemed institutions.

	Eastern Illinois University	Illinois State University
Overview
Location	Charleston, Illinois	Normal, Illinois
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	74.0%	83.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	71.7%	91.5%
Application fees	$30	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50
SAT range	900 - 1140	1000 - 1200
ACT range	17 - 23	21 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	56.0%	51.0%
Students submitting ACT score	66.0%	19.0%
Total number of applicants	7,145	11,913
Total number of admissions given out	5,126	10,905
Admitted students who chose to enroll	778	3,374
Yield rate	15.2%	30.9%
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	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $25,316 Out of state: $27,684	In state: $31,811 Out of state: $43,335
Average net price	$13,669	$21,033
Tuition	In state: $9,472 Out of state: $11,840	In state: $11,524 Out of state: $23,048
Room & board	$10,548	Room/dormitory: $5,494 Meal plan: $4,652
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $10,756	91.0% Average amount $10,848
Students receiving federal student loan	62.0% Average amount $5,140	46.0% Average amount $5,065
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $10,570	8.0% Average amount $14,532

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	6,903 Men 40.6% Women 59.4%	17,674 Men 43.0% Women 57.0%
Graduate students	1,705 Men 37.5% Women 62.5%	2,559 Men 35.1% Women 64.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	9.6%	4.2%
International students	4.6%	2.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	4,304	5,560
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Illinois Indiana Ohio Missouri Texas	Illinois Missouri Wisconsin Michigan Iowa

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Engineering Technologies Health Professions Communication and Journalism	Education Health Professions Business Communication and Journalism Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	19:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	50.7%	67.3%
Dropout rate	15.9%	32.0%
Transferred out	32.6%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,607 Year 2: $54,386 Year 3: $65,635 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $63,284 Year 2: $59,350 Year 3: $64,761 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $40,936 Year 2: $61,020 Year 3: $64,356 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,964 Year 2: $50,677 Year 3: $61,384 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,053 Year 2: $46,673 Year 3: $59,023 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,088 Year 2: $50,856 Year 3: $57,084 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,985 Year 2: $53,894 Year 3: $56,317 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $49,482 Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,479 Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $47,585 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,850 Year 2: $40,768 Year 3: $47,302	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,556 Year 2: $95,930 Year 3: $102,485 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,002 Year 2: $64,990 Year 3: $78,276 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,303 Year 2: $72,884 Year 3: $77,896 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,576 Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $73,936 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,516 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $73,592 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $62,000 Year 2: $64,791 Year 3: $70,358 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,829 Year 2: $65,194 Year 3: $65,533 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,294 Year 2: $54,996 Year 3: $64,567 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,313 Year 2: $52,781 Year 3: $64,241 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,480 Year 2: $54,470 Year 3: $63,207

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