CWU-Ellensburg vs University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF)

Central Washington University (CWU) and University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) are two distinct universities with unique offerings. CWU, located in Ellensburg, Washington, boasts a higher acceptance rate (86%) compared to UAF's 79%. CWU's student body is more diverse, with 44% of students identifying as non-white, while UAF's student body is predominantly white (68%). Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors at CWU including Business, Education, and Psychology, and popular majors at UAF including Engineering, Natural Resources, and Biological Sciences. While CWU has a slightly higher graduation rate (58%) than UAF (56%), both universities provide ample opportunities for students to succeed academically and professionally. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and similarities between these two institutions and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Central Washington University	University of Alaska Fairbanks
Overview
Location	Ellensburg, Washington	Fairbanks, Alaska
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: 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%	68.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.4%	64.7%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $75
SAT range	N/A	1110 - 1360
ACT range	N/A	17 - 27
Students submitting SAT score		12.0%
Students submitting ACT score		16.0%
Total number of applicants	10,767	1,402
Total number of admissions given out	9,523	907
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,371	678
Yield rate	14.4%	74.8%
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: $25,548 Out of state: $39,684
Average net price	$17,645	$9,379
Tuition	In state: $6,656 Out of state: $23,184	In state: $5,616 Out of state: $19,200
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,645 Meal plan: $7,957	Room/dormitory: $5,150 Meal plan: $5,390
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	90.0% Average amount $8,808
Students receiving federal student loan	41.0% Average amount $4,834	21.0% Average amount $5,312
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $14,197	2.0% Average amount $13,596

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,566 Men 47.0% Women 53.0%	5,844 Men 38.4% Women 61.6%
Graduate students	610 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%	982 Men 38.7% Women 61.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	6.7%	17.1%
International students	2.7%	2.4%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Small
Dormitory capacity	3,755	1,554
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	Alaska Washington California Oregon Florida

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Social Sciences Health Professions Visual & Performing Arts	Business Education Law Enforcement and Firefighting Health Professions Engineering
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	53.6%	38.4%
Dropout rate	44.0%	39.6%
Transferred out	N/A	18.1%
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	Petroleum Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $75,889 Year 3: $89,097 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,843 Year 2: $63,997 Year 3: $79,303 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,735 Year 2: $68,219 Year 3: $73,558 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $63,997 Year 3: $62,935 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,188 Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: $53,812 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,355 Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: $44,672 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $33,666 Year 2: $44,942 Year 3: $43,923 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $32,119 Year 3: $34,458 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,635 Year 2: $31,314 Year 3: $32,564 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $27,241 Year 2: $26,739 Year 3: $32,435

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CWU-Ellensburg vs University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF)

Central Washington University

University of Alaska Fairbanks

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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