Montclair State vs California State University-Northridge (CSUN)

Nestled in the vibrant suburbs of New Jersey and California, Montclair State University and California State University-Northridge stand as prominent educational institutions, each offering a unique blend of academic excellence and diverse opportunities. While both universities share a commitment to providing quality education, they differ in several key aspects. Montclair State boasts a higher acceptance rate, welcoming a broader range of students, while CSUN maintains a slightly higher graduation rate. In terms of student demographics, Montclair State's student body is more diverse, with a larger international student population. As for academic offerings, Montclair State excels in the liberal arts and sciences, while CSUN is renowned for its strong programs in the arts, media, and engineering. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details and discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	California State University-Northridge	Montclair State University
Overview
Location	Northridge, California	Montclair, New Jersey
Campus setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
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	82.0%	79.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.1%	90.6%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $60
SAT range	N/A	1010 - 1210
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score		13.0%
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	23,656	18,691
Total number of admissions given out	20,842	16,936
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,716	3,491
Yield rate	22.6%	20.6%
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: $31,857 Out of state: $43,737	In state: $34,486 Out of state: $42,606
Average net price	$8,708	$12,026
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	In state: $12,323 Out of state: $20,443
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,316 Meal plan: $4,506	$16,388
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	82.0% Average amount $10,882	65.0% Average amount $10,846
Students receiving federal student loan	14.0% Average amount $4,779	45.0% Average amount $5,261
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $12,360	8.0% Average amount $14,505

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	34,496 Men 45.0% Women 55.0%	16,093 Men 38.7% Women 61.3%
Graduate students	5,612 Men 33.0% Women 67.0%	4,651 Men 28.8% Women 71.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	1.7%	7.2%
International students	6.0%	2.1%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	4,029	4,800
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Washington Hawaii Nevada Texas	New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Virginia Maryland

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Engineering Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Public Administration and Social Service Computer and Information Science	Business Education Psychology Multidisciplinary Studies Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	26:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	54.2%	67.3%
Dropout rate	33.7%	9.4%
Transferred out	5.6%	21.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $95,739 Year 3: $108,158 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $89,831 Year 2: $92,124 Year 3: $98,535 Taxation (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $72,745 Year 2: $86,867 Year 3: $97,852 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $83,455 Year 2: $88,907 Year 3: $96,626 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $79,863 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $92,559 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $80,493 Year 3: $92,252 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $83,281 Year 2: $83,669 Year 3: $89,964 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,782 Year 2: $75,047 Year 3: $84,221 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,859 Year 2: $73,070 Year 3: $82,977 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,180 Year 2: $76,863 Year 3: $82,194	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,436 Year 2: $88,971 Year 3: $97,794 Educational Administration and Supervision (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $82,574 Year 2: $73,737 Year 3: $80,745 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $66,069 Year 3: $76,275 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $69,430 Year 2: $70,456 Year 3: $75,288 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,437 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $64,578 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,871 Year 2: $46,869 Year 3: $63,277 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $62,057 Year 2: $61,020 Year 3: $58,634 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,012 Year 2: $45,715 Year 3: $58,616 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,928 Year 2: $54,322 Year 3: $57,724 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,613 Year 2: $54,996 Year 3: $56,485

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.