Messiah University vs Gordon College

Messiah University and Gordon College, both esteemed Christian institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Messiah University, located in Grantham, Pennsylvania, boasts a higher acceptance rate (78%) compared to Gordon College's 67% in Wenham, Massachusetts. Messiah's student body is more diverse, with 44% female and 56% male students, while Gordon's student body is more evenly split, with 49% female and 51% male students. Both institutions offer a wide range of popular majors, including Business, Education, and Nursing, but Messiah has a slightly higher graduation rate (78%) compared to Gordon's 76%. To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into these and other key differences between Messiah University and Gordon College.

	Gordon College	Messiah University
Overview
Location	Wenham, Massachusetts	Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	79.0%	85.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Interdenominational	Interdenominational

Admission
Acceptance rate	77.4%	77.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $75	$50
SAT range	1153 - 1370	1100 - 1340
ACT range	24 - 30	23 - 31
Students submitting SAT score	24.0%	57.0%
Students submitting ACT score	8.0%	11.0%
Total number of applicants	1,462	2,458
Total number of admissions given out	1,132	1,902
Admitted students who chose to enroll	317	551
Yield rate	28.0%	29.0%
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	$40,910	$54,340
Average net price	$25,917	$23,895
Tuition	$25,250	$37,430
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,480 Meal plan: $4,220	Room/dormitory: $5,970 Meal plan: $5,250
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $26,364	100.0% Average amount $26,620
Students receiving federal student loan	68.0% Average amount $7,144	65.0% Average amount $5,510
Students taking out private loans	13.0% Average amount $14,683	24.0% Average amount $11,228

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,368 Men 39.5% Women 60.5%	2,495 Men 39.0% Women 61.0%
Graduate students	436 Men 26.4% Women 73.6%	781 Men 28.6% Women 71.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	34.6%
International students	8.4%	2.8%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,390	2,403
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Mississippi Connecticut New Hampshire New York New Jersey	Pennsylvania Maryland New Jersey New York Delaware

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences Social Sciences Visual & Performing Arts	Health Professions Education Business Visual & Performing Arts Engineering
Students to faculty ratio	11:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	72.1%	77.0%
Dropout rate	27.7%	4.8%
Transferred out	N/A	18.3%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,771 Year 2: $46,556 Year 3: $51,827 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,003 Year 2: $27,681 Year 3: $42,021 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,123 Year 2: $35,954 Year 3: $41,684 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,092 Year 2: $31,038 Year 3: $36,135 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,785 Year 2: $33,459 Year 3: $33,409 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,365 Year 2: $30,228 Year 3: $32,774 Social Work (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,486 Year 2: $30,988 Year 3: $32,663 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,082 Year 2: $21,964 Year 3: $27,417 Religion/Religious Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,219 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $21,587 Year 2: $27,439 Year 3: N/A	Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,515 Year 2: $60,623 Year 3: $64,027 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,062 Year 2: $53,608 Year 3: $62,810 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,117 Year 2: $62,546 Year 3: $62,631 Music (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,416 Year 2: $55,693 Year 3: $56,809 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,254 Year 2: $49,214 Year 3: $53,924 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $32,970 Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: $47,853 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,875 Year 2: $37,054 Year 3: $47,113 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,733 Year 2: $40,621 Year 3: $45,156 Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $43,616 Year 2: $39,523 Year 3: $44,488 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,316 Year 2: $35,594 Year 3: $41,855

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