Purdue vs University of Virginia-Main Campus (UVA)

Purdue University-Main Campus and University of Virginia-Main Campus, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Purdue, known for its robust engineering and technology programs, boasts a lower acceptance rate compared to UVA's more liberal arts-focused curriculum. While UVA's student body is slightly larger, Purdue's international student population is notably higher. Both universities excel in research and offer a diverse range of majors, with Purdue excelling in engineering, computer science, and agriculture, and UVA excelling in social sciences, humanities, and business. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve into further details, including graduation rates, cost of attendance, and campus life, to determine which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Purdue University-Main Campus	University of Virginia-Main Campus
Overview
Location	West Lafayette, Indiana	Charlottesville, Virginia
Campus setting	City: Small	Suburb: Small
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	91.0%	97.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	68.8%	20.7%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $60	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $85
SAT range	1190 - 1430	1380 - 1500
ACT range	26 - 33	32 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	62.0%	52.0%
Students submitting ACT score	31.0%	21.0%
Total number of applicants	59,436	47,971
Total number of admissions given out	40,898	9,951
Admitted students who chose to enroll	10,278	3,889
Yield rate	25.1%	39.1%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $22,812 Out of state: $41,614	In state: $36,314 Out of state: $70,696
Average net price	$14,619	$20,401
Tuition	In state: $9,718 Out of state: $28,520	In state: $16,010 Out of state: $49,710
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,860 Meal plan: $5,398	Room/dormitory: $7,110 Meal plan: $5,550
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	68.0% Average amount $7,324	46.0% Average amount $19,612
Students receiving federal student loan	29.0% Average amount $5,101	25.0% Average amount $4,845
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $18,535	6.0% Average amount $11,030

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	37,806 Men 57.8% Women 42.2%	17,294 Men 43.7% Women 56.3%
Graduate students	12,538 Men 57.5% Women 42.5%	8,711 Men 46.9% Women 53.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	51.2%	35.2%
International students	17.8%	8.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Suburb: Small
Dormitory capacity	15,597	7,645
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Indiana Illinois California New Jersey Ohio	Virginia New York Maryland Pennsylvania New Jersey

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Business Health Professions Agriculture Education	Business Health Professions Engineering Social Sciences Education
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	82.7%	93.7%
Dropout rate	16.0%	2.3%
Transferred out	N/A	3.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $86,594 Year 2: $112,363 Year 3: $123,756 Engineering, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $98,166 Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $110,527 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,310 Year 2: $88,342 Year 3: $105,735 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,040 Year 2: $92,632 Year 3: $104,408 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,895 Year 2: $84,653 Year 3: $101,018 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $81,749 Year 2: $85,981 Year 3: $94,727 Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $84,821 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $89,107 Chemistry (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $70,034 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $88,209 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,843 Year 2: $72,448 Year 3: $85,950 Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,780 Year 2: $70,057 Year 3: $79,694	Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $185,710 Year 2: $162,255 Year 3: $193,013 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $157,071 Year 2: $155,263 Year 3: $176,237 Computer Software and Media Applications (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,350 Year 2: $101,406 Year 3: $125,729 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $103,426 Year 2: $107,256 Year 3: $120,362 Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,239 Year 2: $95,739 Year 3: $109,956 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $83,639 Year 2: $92,077 Year 3: $108,272 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $84,682 Year 2: $90,146 Year 3: $101,904 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,602 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $95,939 Systems Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $79,487 Year 2: $82,808 Year 3: $94,931 Public Policy Analysis (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $54,807 Year 2: $70,596 Year 3: $84,597

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