Valpo U vs California Lutheran University

Valparaiso University and California Lutheran University, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Valparaiso, a private Lutheran university in Indiana, boasts a higher acceptance rate (75%) compared to California Lutheran's 65%. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with Valparaiso excelling in nursing, business, and education, while California Lutheran shines in business, communication, and psychology. Valparaiso's student body is predominantly White (79%), while California Lutheran's is more diverse, with a significant Hispanic population (30%). Graduation rates stand at 70% for Valparaiso and 68% for California Lutheran. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions between these two esteemed universities and make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	California Lutheran University	Valparaiso University
Overview
Location	Thousand Oaks, California	Valparaiso, Indiana
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
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	83.0%	81.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Evangelical	Evangelical

Admission
Acceptance rate	81.9%	93.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $50	$30
SAT range	1090 - 1290	N/A
ACT range	23 - 28	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	17.0%
Students submitting ACT score	5.0%
Total number of applicants	4,041	6,095
Total number of admissions given out	3,311	5,679
Admitted students who chose to enroll	492	601
Yield rate	14.9%	10.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$69,251	$56,516
Average net price	$24,065	$21,997
Tuition	$45,500	$43,400
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,130 Meal plan: $6,840	Room/dormitory: $7,956 Meal plan: $4,916
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	98.0% Average amount $30,924	100.0% Average amount $33,693
Students receiving federal student loan	53.0% Average amount $5,462	63.0% Average amount $5,416
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $23,023	11.0% Average amount $15,132

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,592 Men 46.8% Women 53.2%	2,507 Men 42.2% Women 57.8%
Graduate students	1,174 Men 38.3% Women 61.7%	417 Men 42.9% Women 57.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	17.2%	52.5%
International students	6.1%	6.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,517	2,033
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Washington Hawaii Colorado Texas	Indiana Illinois Michigan Wisconsin Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Education Communication and Journalism Computer and Information Science Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Health Professions Business Engineering Computer and Information Science Education
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	11:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	73.8%	74.5%
Dropout rate	4.9%	25.4%
Transferred out	20.8%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $95,459 Year 2: $108,092 Year 3: $110,763 Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,377 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $88,791 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $76,491 Year 2: $75,011 Year 3: $76,443 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,247 Year 2: $57,995 Year 3: $73,469 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,706 Year 2: $55,512 Year 3: $62,953 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,621 Year 2: $56,641 Year 3: $59,516 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,707 Year 2: $48,823 Year 3: $56,640 Public Administration (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,014 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: $55,305 Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,687 Year 2: $46,478 Year 3: $52,964 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,541 Year 2: $36,275 Year 3: $52,663	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $94,025 Year 2: $117,572 Year 3: $120,200 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,690 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $73,522 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,015 Year 2: $65,089 Year 3: $70,796 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $65,962 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $70,724 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,617 Year 2: $59,485 Year 3: $68,143 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,126 Year 2: $62,934 Year 3: $62,049 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $42,790 Year 2: $45,902 Year 3: $55,968 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,691 Year 2: $48,041 Year 3: $54,471 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,272 Year 2: $50,231 Year 3: $53,238 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $50,613

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