Southwestern Adventist University vs Southern Adventist University

Southwestern Adventist University (SWAU) and Southern Adventist University (SAU) are two highly regarded private Christian universities with distinct characteristics. SWAU, located in Keene, Texas, offers a close-knit community with a lower acceptance rate of 58% and a smaller student body of around 1,000 undergraduates. SAU, situated in Collegedale, Tennessee, boasts a larger student population of over 3,000 undergraduates and a higher acceptance rate of 73%. Both universities provide a faith-based education, but SWAU has a slightly higher percentage of students identifying as Adventist. While SAU offers a broader range of undergraduate programs, SWAU excels in certain fields like nursing and education. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more differences, including graduation rates, popular majors, and student demographics, to help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Southern Adventist University	Southwestern Adventist University
Overview
Location	Collegedale, Tennessee	Keene, Texas
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Fringe
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	82.0%	73.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation	Protestant	Protestant

Admission
Acceptance rate	74.4%	57.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $40	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $25
SAT range	N/A	900 - 1130
ACT range	N/A	16 - 25
Students submitting SAT score		43.0%
Students submitting ACT score		20.0%
Total number of applicants	1,914	1,099
Total number of admissions given out	1,424	632
Admitted students who chose to enroll	571	132
Yield rate	40.1%	20.9%
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	$37,110	$35,508
Average net price	$24,127	$18,472
Tuition	$22,320	$22,848
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,760 Meal plan: $3,480	Room/dormitory: $4,050 Meal plan: $4,050
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $13,511	100.0% Average amount $14,820
Students receiving federal student loan	43.0% Average amount $6,616	55.0% Average amount $4,995
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $11,610	2.0% Average amount $5,902

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,400 Men 44.9% Women 55.1%	835 Men 39.6% Women 60.4%
Graduate students	319 Men 21.9% Women 78.1%	17 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	80.6%	N/A
International students	5.6%	2.9%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	1,600	400
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Tennessee California Florida Georgia North Carolina	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences Public Administration and Social Service Business Education	Health Professions Business Education Psychology Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	13:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	47.7%	45.4%
Dropout rate	25.8%	13.6%
Transferred out	25.2%	38.3%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $89,121 Year 2: $92,277 Year 3: $102,756 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,507 Year 2: $53,579 Year 3: $59,839 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,420 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Theological and Ministerial Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: N/A Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $38,217 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $45,098 Year 2: $38,829 Year 3: N/A Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $51,554 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,843 Year 2: $34,530 Year 3: N/A	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,412 Year 2: $66,941 Year 3: $68,651

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