Quad

Head-to-head

Lamar
Portland State

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    Lamar's grants cover 44% of its full price on average, vs. 30% at Portland State

    Aid generosity
  2. 2

    Portland State graduates 12 pts more of its students than Lamar (58% vs. 46%)

    Graduation rate
  3. 3

    Lamar costs about $7.7K less per year on average than Portland State ($14,443 vs. $22,192, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  4. 4

    Portland State grads earn $8.3K more ten years out than Lamar's ($57,906 vs. $49,652)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  5. 5

    Portland State has 1.6× as many undergrads as Lamar

    Undergrads
  6. 6

    Lamar has 5 pts more Pell recipients than Portland State (46% vs. 42%)

    Pell Grant recipients

The shape of each school

Each axis is a national rank among 4-year colleges; further out = more of it.

SelectivityTest scoresSizePell shareFirst-genDiversity

Hollow dots at the center mean that measure isn't reported.

Who's hardest to get into

Lamar admits 86%, Portland State 91%; Lamar's yield is higher, at 22%.

Acceptance rate
Lamar86%
Portland State91%
Quad's selectivity
  • LamarOpen
  • Portland StateOpen
SAT middle 50%Axis 800–1600
Lamar
930–1140
Portland StateNot reported
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • LamarSchool record and rank required
  • Portland StateGPA, school record, and prep program required

Who's on each campus

Portland State has 1.6× as many undergrads as Lamar; Lamar has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Lamar8.2K
Portland State13.2K
Pell Grant share
Lamar46%
Portland State42%

Majors and faculty

Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies leads at Lamar, and Psychology at Portland State; Portland State has 17 students per faculty member to Lamar's 20.

Students per faculty member
Lamar20 to 1
Portland State17 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • LamarMulti-/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other21%
  • Portland StatePsychology, General10%

What each costs

Lamar costs about $7.7K less a year than Portland State on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Lamar$14.4K
Portland State$22.2K
Aid generosity
Lamar44%
Portland State30%

What each pays off

Portland State's former students earn more, a median $57.9K ten years after enrolling; six-year graduation runs from 58% at Portland State to 46% at Lamar.

Median earnings, 10 years
Lamar$49.7K
Portland State$57.9K
Graduation rate
Lamar46%
Portland State58%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; both got less selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • LamarGrowing+97%
  • Portland StateGrowing+53%
All the numbersEvery figure for these colleges in one table, with differences highlighted.
Sources for this comparisonEvery dataset and year behind the numbers in this comparison; tap any ⓘ for one number's source

Sources:IPEDS Admissions survey, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, most recent release;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard, 2023–24;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why