Ohio State vs Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)

Ohio State University-Main Campus and Virginia Commonwealth University, two prominent public research universities, offer distinct educational experiences. Ohio State, located in Columbus, Ohio, boasts a larger student body and a higher acceptance rate compared to VCU, situated in Richmond, Virginia. While both universities excel in various academic disciplines, Ohio State is renowned for its engineering, business, and health sciences programs, while VCU is known for its arts, design, and nursing programs. Explore the detailed comparison table to delve into further differences, including student demographics, graduation rates, and additional program offerings, to determine which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Ohio State University-Main Campus	Virginia Commonwealth University
Overview
Location	Columbus, Ohio	Richmond, Virginia
Campus setting	City: Large	City: 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	94.0%	84.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	57.2%	92.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $60	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70
SAT range	1250 - 1440	1070 - 1300
ACT range	26 - 32	20 - 29
Students submitting SAT score	21.0%	29.0%
Students submitting ACT score	64.0%	5.0%
Total number of applicants	58,180	17,579
Total number of admissions given out	33,269	16,308
Admitted students who chose to enroll	8,423	4,084
Yield rate	25.3%	25.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $27,796 Out of state: $50,879	In state: $36,861 Out of state: $58,199
Average net price	$19,474	$19,656
Tuition	In state: $11,018 Out of state: $34,101	In state: $12,094 Out of state: $32,742
Room & board	$13,392	Room/dormitory: $6,953 Meal plan: $5,820
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	72.0% Average amount $11,830	78.0% Average amount $13,623
Students receiving federal student loan	36.0% Average amount $5,228	44.0% Average amount $5,174
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $17,841	8.0% Average amount $17,903

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	47,106 Men 50.3% Women 49.7%	21,394 Men 36.9% Women 63.1%
Graduate students	14,571 Men 41.6% Women 58.4%	7,200 Men 33.7% Women 66.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	25.1%	7.0%
International students	9.1%	3.6%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	15,129	5,958
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Ohio New York Illinois New Jersey Pennsylvania	Virginia Maryland North Carolina New Jersey Pennsylvania

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Engineering Education Business Public Administration and Social Service	Health Professions Visual & Performing Arts Business Public Administration and Social Service Multidisciplinary Studies
Students to faculty ratio	18:1	18:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	88.0%	67.6%
Dropout rate	3.8%	10.5%
Transferred out	7.1%	19.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Dentistry (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $232,029 Year 2: $248,619 Year 3: $267,734 Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $177,325 Year 3: $228,908 Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $116,968 Year 2: $121,226 Year 3: $143,684 Veterinary Medicine (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $155,311 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $132,262 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $108,826 Year 2: $104,749 Year 3: $125,137 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $99,951 Year 2: $120,498 Year 3: $122,881 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,639 Year 2: $108,577 Year 3: $115,825 Physics (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $79,371 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $107,219 Optometry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $89,790 Year 2: $99,983 Year 3: $105,922 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $85,188 Year 2: $87,470 Year 3: $100,687	Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $234,763 Year 3: $225,432 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $166,030 Year 2: $181,454 Year 3: $181,915 Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $87,586 Year 2: $106,935 Year 3: $134,578 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $101,582 Year 2: $119,256 Year 3: $121,903 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $94,371 Year 2: $93,178 Year 3: $105,544 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $94,094 Year 2: $93,467 Year 3: $97,893 Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,759 Year 2: $86,867 Year 3: $94,244 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $73,726 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $90,664 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $77,993 Year 2: $89,305 Year 3: $82,470 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,920 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $82,210

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