CWU-Ellensburg vs Walla Walla University

Central Washington University (CWU) and Walla Walla University (WWU) are two distinct institutions of higher learning, each offering unique educational experiences. CWU, a public university located in Ellensburg, Washington, boasts an acceptance rate of 88%, making it a more accessible option for prospective students. WWU, a private Christian university in College Place, Washington, has a more selective admissions process, with an acceptance rate of 68%. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with CWU excelling in fields like Business, Education, and Nursing, while WWU is renowned for its programs in Biology, Engineering, and Theology. CWU's student body is predominantly composed of Washington residents, while WWU attracts a more international student population. With graduation rates of 48% and 56% respectively, both universities are committed to student success and providing the necessary resources for academic achievement. To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we have

	Central Washington University	Walla Walla University
Overview
Location	Ellensburg, Washington	College Place, Washington
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Quarter	Quarter
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	69.0%	77.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation		Protestant

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.4%	50.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	920 - 1210
ACT range	N/A	20 - 27
Students submitting SAT score		64.0%
Students submitting ACT score		57.0%
Total number of applicants	10,767	2,220
Total number of admissions given out	9,523	1,127
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,371	404
Yield rate	14.4%	35.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A
High school GPA	Required	N/A
Recommendation letters	Not required	N/A
High school transcript	Not required	N/A
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	N/A

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $22,248 Out of state: $38,776	$41,871
Average net price	$17,645	$25,421
Tuition	In state: $6,656 Out of state: $23,184	$29,487
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,645 Meal plan: $7,957	Room/dormitory: $4,650 Meal plan: $3,993
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	100.0% Average amount $16,912
Students receiving federal student loan	41.0% Average amount $4,834	51.0% Average amount $5,037
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $14,197	29.0% Average amount $3,631

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,566 Men 47.0% Women 53.0%	1,402 Men 51.0% Women 49.0%
Graduate students	610 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%	182 Men 23.1% Women 76.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	6.7%	67.5%
International students	2.7%	6.9%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Small
Dormitory capacity	3,755	1,277
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	Washington California Oregon Idaho Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Social Sciences Health Professions Visual & Performing Arts	Public Administration and Social Service Health Professions Engineering Business Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	53.6%	63.9%
Dropout rate	44.0%	7.5%
Transferred out	N/A	27.2%
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	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,754 Year 2: $77,297 Year 3: $82,954 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,324 Year 2: $60,568 Year 3: $67,727 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $41,554 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $48,570 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,758 Year 2: $32,467 Year 3: $41,718 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $34,704 Year 3: N/A Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,881 Year 3: N/A Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $25,370 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: N/A

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.