UC Riverside vs NorthWestern

Nestled in the heart of California's Inland Empire, University of California-Riverside (UCR) stands as a public research university, while Northwestern University, located in the vibrant city of Evanston, Illinois, is a private research university. With acceptance rates of 53% and 9%, respectively, these institutions cater to different levels of selectivity. UCR boasts a diverse student body, with 49% of undergraduates identifying as Hispanic/Latino, while Northwestern's student population is more evenly distributed across various ethnicities. In terms of popular majors, UCR students gravitate towards fields like Business, Social Sciences, and Biological Sciences, whereas Northwestern students often pursue Communication, Social Sciences, and Engineering. While both universities offer a rich academic experience, UCR's graduation rate stands at 70%, while Northwestern's is slightly higher at 91%. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve deeper into the nuances that set these two esteemed institutions apart and make an informed decision

	Northwestern University	University of California-Riverside
Overview
Location	Evanston, Illinois	Riverside, California
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Quarter	Quarter
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	99.0%	88.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	7.0%	65.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $95	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $120
SAT range	1470 - 1570	N/A
ACT range	34 - 35	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	43.0%
Students submitting ACT score	39.0%
Total number of applicants	47,636	52,672
Total number of admissions given out	3,321	34,437
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,086	5,203
Yield rate	62.8%	15.1%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$83,838	In state: $32,312 Out of state: $62,066
Average net price	$29,999	$13,502
Tuition	$60,276	In state: $11,442 Out of state: $41,196
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $11,271 Meal plan: $6,993	$16,600
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	57.0% Average amount $51,087	78.0% Average amount $18,676
Students receiving federal student loan	23.0% Average amount $4,625	28.0% Average amount $4,703
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $38,595	2.0% Average amount $8,151

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,847 Men 46.1% Women 53.9%	22,868 Men 47.0% Women 53.0%
Graduate students	14,562 Men 47.3% Women 52.7%	3,979 Men 53.8% Women 46.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	0.8%
International students	17.8%	8.1%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	4,409	8,597
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	California Nevada Florida Arizona New Mexico

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Communication and Journalism Engineering Health Professions Legal Profession	Business Engineering Computer and Information Science Biological and Biomedical Sciences Education
Students to faculty ratio	6:1	24:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	95.2%	76.5%
Dropout rate	4.2%	6.2%
Transferred out	N/A	16.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $150,242 Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $221,242 Business/Commerce, General (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $216,176 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $187,194 Year 2: $170,971 Year 3: $206,288 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $120,709 Year 2: $189,565 Year 3: $194,961 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $162,478 Year 2: $163,561 Year 3: $177,652 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $111,200 Year 2: $157,779 Year 3: $159,304 Engineering, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $140,321 Year 2: $141,586 Year 3: $154,556 Medical Illustration and Informatics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $88,288 Year 2: $118,465 Year 3: $132,325 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $118,780 Year 2: $111,323 Year 3: $130,124 Community Organization and Advocacy (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $115,760 Year 2: $113,668 Year 3: $128,046	Psychology, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $85,748 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,571 Year 2: $69,617 Year 3: $84,080 Education, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $79,838 Year 3: $81,740 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,399 Year 2: $66,076 Year 3: $80,825 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,188 Year 2: $59,912 Year 3: $68,240 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,114 Year 2: $60,320 Year 3: $67,946 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,484 Year 2: $49,464 Year 3: $66,365 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,049 Year 2: $58,568 Year 3: $64,438 Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,664 Year 2: $49,214 Year 3: $63,844 Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,269 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $59,823

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