CWU-Ellensburg vs Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)

Central Washington University (CWU) and Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) are two distinct institutions of higher learning, each offering unique opportunities and experiences to their students. CWU, located in Ellensburg, Washington, boasts a higher acceptance rate (86%) compared to FGCU's 54%, making it a more accessible option for prospective students. FGCU, situated in Fort Myers, Florida, stands out with its larger student body, comprising over 15,000 students, while CWU maintains a cozy community of around 11,000 students. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate and graduate programs, with CWU excelling in fields like education, business, and nursing, and FGCU shining in areas such as hospitality, engineering, and health professions. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve into further details about these institutions, including their graduation rates, student demographics, and more, to help you make an informed decision

	Central Washington University	Florida Gulf Coast University
Overview
Location	Ellensburg, Washington	Fort Myers, Florida
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	69.0%	82.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.4%	89.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $30
SAT range	N/A	1010 - 1180
ACT range	N/A	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score		79.0%
Students submitting ACT score		45.0%
Total number of applicants	10,767	14,462
Total number of admissions given out	9,523	12,901
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,371	3,125
Yield rate	14.4%	24.2%
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	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $22,248 Out of state: $38,776	In state: $20,390 Out of state: $39,434
Average net price	$17,645	$9,840
Tuition	In state: $6,656 Out of state: $23,184	In state: $4,191 Out of state: $22,328
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,645 Meal plan: $7,957	Room/dormitory: $4,820 Meal plan: $4,346
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	80.0% Average amount $7,378	78.0% Average amount $6,754
Students receiving federal student loan	41.0% Average amount $4,834	30.0% Average amount $7,251
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $14,197	4.0% Average amount $16,201

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,566 Men 47.0% Women 53.0%	14,228 Men 42.9% Women 57.1%
Graduate students	610 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%	1,681 Men 29.2% Women 70.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	6.7%	17.6%
International students	2.7%	2.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	3,755	4,732
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Washington California Oregon Hawaii Arkansas	Florida Illinois New Jersey Pennsylvania Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Social Sciences Health Professions Visual & Performing Arts	Health Professions Multidisciplinary Studies Liberal Arts Education Engineering
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	22:1
Institutional accreditation	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	53.6%	56.2%
Dropout rate	44.0%	26.2%
Transferred out	N/A	13.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,910 Year 2: $59,722 Year 3: $85,341 Computer Software and Media Applications (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $74,972 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $70,296 Year 3: $73,324 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,429 Year 2: $66,821 Year 3: $68,880 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $51,840 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $68,095 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,707 Year 2: $47,520 Year 3: $65,837 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,279 Year 2: $62,409 Year 3: $64,731 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,799 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $63,963 Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,944 Year 2: $46,769 Year 3: $59,253 Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,874 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $58,083

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