CSU-FC vs CWU-Ellensburg

Colorado State University-Fort Collins and Central Washington University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Colorado State boasts a lower acceptance rate, indicating a more selective admissions process, while Central Washington University welcomes a broader range of applicants. In terms of academic offerings, Colorado State excels in fields like engineering, business, and veterinary medicine, while Central Washington University shines in programs such as education, nursing, and social work. The student bodies at these universities reflect their unique strengths, with Colorado State attracting a more diverse population and Central Washington University fostering a close-knit community. Finally, Colorado State graduates enjoy higher employment rates and median salaries, a testament to the university's strong reputation among employers. To help you make an informed decision about your academic journey, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting these key differences and more. Dive in to discover which university aligns best with your aspirations and goals.

	Central Washington University	Colorado State University-Fort Collins
Overview
Location	Ellensburg, Washington	Fort Collins, Colorado
Campus setting	Town: Distant	City: Midsize
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%	86.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.4%	89.6%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $60
SAT range	N/A	1080 - 1290
ACT range	N/A	23 - 29
Students submitting SAT score		38.0%
Students submitting ACT score		17.0%
Total number of applicants	10,767	31,586
Total number of admissions given out	9,523	28,314
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,371	5,197
Yield rate	14.4%	18.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	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: $27,174 Out of state: $46,456
Average net price	$17,645	$18,320
Tuition	In state: $6,656 Out of state: $23,184	In state: $9,709 Out of state: $28,991
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,645 Meal plan: $7,957	Room/dormitory: $6,186 Meal plan: $6,830
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	70.0% Average amount $10,034
Students receiving federal student loan	41.0% Average amount $4,834	36.0% Average amount $5,018
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $14,197	7.0% Average amount $19,976

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,566 Men 47.0% Women 53.0%	24,954 Men 45.6% Women 54.4%
Graduate students	610 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%	7,632 Men 43.7% Women 56.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	6.7%	34.3%
International students	2.7%	4.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	3,755	8,300
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	Colorado California Texas Illinois Washington

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

Outcome
Graduation rate	53.6%	69.1%
Dropout rate	44.0%	18.5%
Transferred out	N/A	10.4%
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	Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $94,915 Year 3: $106,015 Engineering, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $82,613 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $95,296 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,379 Year 2: $75,706 Year 3: $93,827 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $98,747 Year 2: $80,301 Year 3: $92,215 Chemistry (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $73,256 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $89,957 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,253 Year 2: $73,070 Year 3: $88,889 Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $77,603 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $88,546 Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $76,387 Year 2: $83,546 Year 3: $86,814 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,629 Year 2: $71,778 Year 3: $83,089 Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,849 Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $80,723

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.