Illinois State vs Grand Valley State

Envision yourself as a college student, embarking on a journey of higher education. As you navigate the vast landscape of universities, two prominent institutions emerge: Illinois State University and Grand Valley State University. While both offer exceptional academic opportunities, they possess distinct characteristics that may influence your decision. Illinois State boasts a higher acceptance rate, welcoming a diverse student body from various backgrounds. Grand Valley, on the other hand, maintains a more selective admissions process, resulting in a student population with a higher average GPA. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details, including popular majors, graduation rates, and additional factors that will help you determine which university aligns best with your aspirations and goals.

	Grand Valley State University	Illinois State University
Overview
Location	Allendale, Michigan	Normal, Illinois
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	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	83.0%	83.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	91.7%	91.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	1000 - 1200
ACT range	N/A	21 - 27
Students submitting SAT score		51.0%
Students submitting ACT score		19.0%
Total number of applicants	17,163	11,913
Total number of admissions given out	15,730	10,905
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,807	3,374
Yield rate	24.2%	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: $23,604 Out of state: $29,340	In state: $31,811 Out of state: $43,335
Average net price	$16,947	$21,033
Tuition	In state: $13,560 Out of state: $19,296	In state: $11,524 Out of state: $23,048
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,380 Meal plan: $3,500	Room/dormitory: $5,494 Meal plan: $4,652
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	80.0% Average amount $8,376	91.0% Average amount $10,848
Students receiving federal student loan	50.0% Average amount $5,161	46.0% Average amount $5,065
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $13,024	8.0% Average amount $14,532

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	19,379 Men 38.9% Women 61.1%	17,674 Men 43.0% Women 57.0%
Graduate students	3,027 Men 28.0% Women 72.0%	2,559 Men 35.1% Women 64.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	10.6%	4.2%
International students	1.8%	2.8%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	6,012	5,560
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Michigan Illinois Indiana Ohio Texas	Illinois Missouri Wisconsin Michigan Iowa

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Business Public Administration and Social Service Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Education Health Professions Business Communication and Journalism Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	19:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	67.1%	67.3%
Dropout rate	15.6%	32.0%
Transferred out	15.4%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $103,525 Year 2: $105,839 Year 3: $111,967 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $91,846 Year 2: $96,539 Year 3: $93,695 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $79,623 Year 2: $71,015 Year 3: $83,454 Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $68,965 Year 2: $68,666 Year 3: $73,434 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,881 Year 2: $62,691 Year 3: $72,792 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,211 Year 2: $65,969 Year 3: $72,474 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,095 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $71,736 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,039 Year 2: $58,479 Year 3: $69,240 Information Science/Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,382 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $68,410 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $69,161 Year 2: $67,939 Year 3: $68,289	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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