CWU-Ellensburg vs South Dakota State University (SDSU)

Central Washington University (CWU) and South Dakota State University (SDSU) are two distinct institutions of higher learning, each offering unique opportunities and experiences to their students. CWU, located in Ellensburg, Washington, boasts an acceptance rate of 88%, while SDSU, situated in Brookings, South Dakota, has a slightly lower acceptance rate of 85%. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate and graduate programs, with CWU excelling in fields like business, education, and nursing, and SDSU specializing in agriculture, engineering, and pharmacy. While CWU's student body is predominantly composed of Washington residents, SDSU attracts a more geographically diverse student population. Additionally, CWU has a higher graduation rate of 56% compared to SDSU's 50%. To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we have compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into these aspects and more, allowing you to assess which university aligns best with

	Central Washington University	South Dakota State University
Overview
Location	Ellensburg, Washington	Brookings, South Dakota
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Town: Remote
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%	80.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.4%	87.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $20 Graduate: $35
SAT range	N/A	980 - 1220
ACT range	N/A	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score		3.0%
Students submitting ACT score		86.0%
Total number of applicants	10,767	5,774
Total number of admissions given out	9,523	5,048
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,371	2,019
Yield rate	14.4%	40.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	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: $24,304 Out of state: $27,814
Average net price	$17,645	$17,859
Tuition	In state: $6,656 Out of state: $23,184	In state: $7,773 Out of state: $11,283
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,645 Meal plan: $7,957	Room/dormitory: $4,054 Meal plan: $4,082
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	80.0% Average amount $7,378	81.0% Average amount $4,747
Students receiving federal student loan	41.0% Average amount $4,834	60.0% Average amount $5,063
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $14,197	17.0% Average amount $9,956

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,566 Men 47.0% Women 53.0%	9,847 Men 45.2% Women 54.8%
Graduate students	610 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%	1,618 Men 37.3% Women 62.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Very Low
Out-of-state students	6.7%	N/A
International students	2.7%	5.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	3,755	4,488
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	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Social Sciences Health Professions Visual & Performing Arts	Health Professions Engineering Family and Consumer Sciences Education Agriculture
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	53.6%	59.5%
Dropout rate	44.0%	38.9%
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	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $110,688 Year 2: $117,014 Year 3: $126,250 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $92,277 Year 3: $114,802 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,967 Year 2: $74,845 Year 3: $81,032 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,229 Year 2: $61,322 Year 3: $70,114 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,268 Year 2: $59,124 Year 3: $62,932 Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,985 Year 2: $56,234 Year 3: $61,104 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,372 Year 2: $57,860 Year 3: $60,463 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,551 Year 2: $56,776 Year 3: $59,988 Plant Sciences (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,213 Year 2: $55,151 Year 3: $55,715 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $54,439

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