GSU vs. CCS

Governors State University vs. College for Creative Studies comparison

	Governors State University	College for Creative Studies	College 3	College 4
	Remove	Remove	+Add	+Add
Overview	GSU	CCS
Location	University Park, IL	Detroit, MI
Setting	Rural Fringe	Large City
Enrollment	4,337	1,459
Type	Public 4 Year	Private 4 Year
National Ranking
Religious Affiliation	-	-	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	govst.edu	collegeforcreativestudies.edu
Team Colors

Costs	GSU	CCS
Tuition (In State)	$7,872	$49,950
Tuition (Out of State)	$7,872	$49,950
Room & Board	$11,360	$11,040
Avg Net Price	$10,833	$34,436
Avg Grant Aid	$11,315	$26,983
% Receiving Grant Aid	90%	99%

Admission	GSU	CCS
Admission Chances	Calculate	Calculate
Applied	-	1,132
Admitted	-	1,050
Acceptance Rate		92.8%
Enrolled %		25%
Avg High School GPA	4.0	3.19
Typical High School Grades	A/A+	B
Admissions Standards	Extremely Easy	Unavailable
Applicant Competition
ACT Range
SAT Range	830/1060
Submit Test Scores		Not considered for admission, even if submitted (Test Blind)
Application Deadline	Apr 1, 2025

Academics	GSU	CCS
Student to Faculty Ratio	11:1	10:1
Popular Majors		Visual and Performing Arts (87%) Communications Technology (13%)
Outcomes	GSU	CCS
Graduation Rate	-	57%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$42,600	$46,100
Making Student Loan Payments	48%	60%
Median Student Loan Debt	$17,250	$27,000
Median Loan Payment	$178	$279

Diversity	GSU	CCS
% Men	15%	2%
% Women	27%	2%
Racial Diversity	Very High	High
HBCU	No	No
% White	36%	58%
% Black	38%	10%
% Hispanic	11%	4%
% Native American	0%	0%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	2%	4%
% International	1%	7%
% Unknown Race	9%	11%

Students	GSU	CCS
% In-State	95%	76%
% Out-of-State	3%	18%
Campus	GSU	CCS
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes
Freshman Dorm Required		No
Meal Plan	Yes	Yes
Weekend/Evening Classes	Yes	No
Daycare Facility		No
Learn More	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• Governors State University is larger than than CCS based on total student enrollment (4,337 students vs. 1,459 students)

GSU vs. CCS Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, GSU or CCS?

• College for Creative Studies is 534.5% more expensive to attend than GSU for in-state tuition ($49,950.00 vs. $7,872.00)
• Out of state tuition is 534.5% higher at CCS than Governors State University ($49,950.00 vs. $7,872.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Governors State University than CCS ($10,833 vs. $34,436)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at College for Creative Studies are 2.9% lower than costs at Governors State University ($11,040 vs. $11,360)
• More students receive financial grant aid at College for Creative Studies than Governors State University (99% vs. 90%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by College for Creative Studies students is 138.5% larger than aid received Governors State University ($26,983 vs. $11,315)

Which college is harder to get into, GSU or CCS? Average SAT and ACT scores plus acceptance rates offer good insight into the difficulty of admission between CCS or GSU .

• The average SAT score at College for Creative Studies (1070) is 159 points higher than at GSU (911)
• Incoming CCS students have a 4 point higher average ACT score (23) than students at GSU (19)
• Accepted freshman GSU students have a 0.81 point higher average high school GPA (4.0) than students at CCS (3.19)

GSU vs. CCS Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, GSU or CCS? Graduation rate, salary and amount of student loan debt are indicators of a college which offers better outcomes for its graduates. Compare the following outcomes facts between CCS and GSU.

• Graduates from College for Creative Studies earn on average $3,500 more per year than GSU graduates after ten years. ($46,100 vs. $42,600)
• Governors State University students graduate with a $9,750 lower median federal student loan debt than CCS graduates. ($17,250 vs. $27,000)
• GSU graduates are paying $101 less per month on federal student loans than CCS graduates. ($178 vs. $279)
• More CCS graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former GSU students, three years after graduation. (60% vs. 48%)

Sources: U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov IPEDS and College Scorecard https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/