CWU-Ellensburg vs Northern Arizona University (NAU)

Central Washington University (CWU) and Northern Arizona University (NAU) are two public universities located in the western United States, each offering a unique educational experience. CWU, situated in Ellensburg, Washington, boasts a smaller student body and a higher acceptance rate compared to NAU in Flagstaff, Arizona. While both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate and graduate programs, CWU excels in fields like education, business, and nursing, while NAU is renowned for its programs in forestry, engineering, and the natural sciences. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further distinctions between these two institutions, including student demographics, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your decision in choosing the best fit for your academic and personal aspirations.

	Central Washington University	Northern Arizona University
Overview
Location	Ellensburg, Washington	Flagstaff, Arizona
Campus setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
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%	74.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.4%	78.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $65
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	10,767	42,872
Total number of admissions given out	9,523	33,592
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,371	5,297
Yield rate	14.4%	15.8%
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: $28,430 Out of state: $43,176
Average net price	$17,645	$16,059
Tuition	In state: $6,656 Out of state: $23,184	In state: $10,650 Out of state: $25,396
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,645 Meal plan: $7,957	Room/dormitory: $6,000 Meal plan: $5,338
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	80.0% Average amount $7,378	97.0% Average amount $12,922
Students receiving federal student loan	41.0% Average amount $4,834	34.0% Average amount $5,314
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $14,197	4.0% Average amount $13,306

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,566 Men 47.0% Women 53.0%	24,162 Men 37.0% Women 63.0%
Graduate students	610 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%	4,549 Men 32.1% Women 67.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	6.7%	31.9%
International students	2.7%	2.2%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	3,755	9,853
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	Arizona California Colorado Nevada New Mexico

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Social Sciences Health Professions Visual & Performing Arts	Education Health Professions Business Engineering Public Administration and Social Service
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	21:1
Institutional accreditation	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	53.6%	59.0%
Dropout rate	44.0%	40.0%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
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	Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $94,560 Year 2: $101,406 Year 3: $108,112 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,716 Year 2: $92,632 Year 3: $96,135 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $80,374 Year 2: $79,081 Year 3: $89,768 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,244 Year 2: $76,117 Year 3: $81,532 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,225 Year 2: $74,890 Year 3: $79,106 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,718 Year 2: $68,219 Year 3: $75,432 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $71,725 Year 2: $71,183 Year 3: $71,928 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,840 Year 2: $59,350 Year 3: $70,793 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,911 Year 2: $65,042 Year 3: $70,433 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,712 Year 2: $54,252 Year 3: $68,199

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CWU-Ellensburg vs Northern Arizona University (NAU)

Central Washington University

Northern Arizona University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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