CWU-Ellensburg vs CSU Stan

Central Washington University (CWU) and California State University-Stanislaus (CSUS) are two distinct universities with unique offerings. CWU, located in Ellensburg, Washington, boasts a higher acceptance rate (86%) compared to CSUS's 54% in Turlock, California. CWU's student body is predominantly White (73%) and female (56%), while CSUS has a more diverse student population with a higher percentage of Hispanic (38%) and Asian (20%) students. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, with popular majors including Business, Education, and Psychology. However, CSUS has a slightly higher graduation rate (59%) than CWU (56%). To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two institutions. Explore the table to find the university that best aligns with your academic goals and personal preferences.

	California State University-Stanislaus	Central Washington University
Overview
Location	Turlock, California	Ellensburg, Washington
Campus setting	Suburb: Small	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Quarter
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	79.0%	69.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	94.8%	88.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	5,740	10,767
Total number of admissions given out	5,439	9,523
Admitted students who chose to enroll	951	1,371
Yield rate	17.5%	14.4%
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)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $28,160 Out of state: $40,040	In state: $22,248 Out of state: $38,776
Average net price	$7,230	$17,645
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	In state: $6,656 Out of state: $23,184
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,970 Meal plan: $3,800	Room/dormitory: $7,645 Meal plan: $7,957
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	85.0% Average amount $9,785	80.0% Average amount $7,378
Students receiving federal student loan	12.0% Average amount $4,375	41.0% Average amount $4,834
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $4,631	2.0% Average amount $14,197

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,198 Men 32.9% Women 67.1%	9,566 Men 47.0% Women 53.0%
Graduate students	1,283 Men 24.4% Women 75.6%	610 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	0.4%	6.7%
International students	3.5%	2.7%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	722	3,755
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Arizona Texas Washington	Washington California Oregon Hawaii Arkansas

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Liberal Arts Health Professions Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Education Business Social Sciences Health Professions Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	20:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	57.6%	53.6%
Dropout rate	33.4%	44.0%
Transferred out	3.7%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $98,218 Year 2: $99,447 Year 3: $104,737 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $93,421 Year 2: $88,527 Year 3: $94,937 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $67,732 Year 2: $73,949 Year 3: $71,868 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $62,896 Year 2: $59,688 Year 3: $70,122 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $60,242 Year 2: $57,796 Year 3: $62,660 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,765 Year 2: $49,918 Year 3: $62,129 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,287 Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: $46,936 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,749 Year 2: $39,205 Year 3: $45,861 Social Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,464 Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: $43,627 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,743 Year 2: $34,942 Year 3: $43,440	Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $72,482 Year 3: $86,230 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,538 Year 2: $71,168 Year 3: $82,194 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,024 Year 2: $65,486 Year 3: $79,944 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,531 Year 2: $61,020 Year 3: $77,665 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,052 Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $69,645 Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,580 Year 2: $56,979 Year 3: $69,564 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $55,151 Year 3: $62,577 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $44,170 Year 3: $61,531 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,008 Year 2: $39,369 Year 3: $58,391 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $47,842 Year 2: $50,606 Year 3: $58,240

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