Eastern Washington University vs CWU-Ellensburg

Eastern Washington University (EWU) and Central Washington University (CWU) are two public universities located in the beautiful state of Washington. While both institutions offer a wide range of academic programs and opportunities, there are some key differences between them. EWU has a slightly higher acceptance rate (78%) compared to CWU (73%), making it a more accessible option for students. CWU, on the other hand, boasts a slightly higher graduation rate (58%) compared to EWU (56%). In terms of student body demographics, EWU has a larger student population (12,000+) compared to CWU (10,000+). Both universities offer popular majors such as Business, Education, and Nursing, but EWU has a stronger focus on the Arts and Sciences, while CWU is known for its strong programs in Health Sciences and Engineering. To help you make an informed decision about which university is the right fit for you, we have compiled

	Central Washington University	Eastern Washington University
Overview
Location	Ellensburg, Washington	Cheney, Washington
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Town: Fringe
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Quarter	Quarter
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	69.0%	67.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.4%	97.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75
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	4,232
Total number of admissions given out	9,523	4,108
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,371	1,305
Yield rate	14.4%	31.8%
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: $22,889 Out of state: $40,715
Average net price	$17,645	$13,650
Tuition	In state: $6,656 Out of state: $23,184	In state: $6,896 Out of state: $24,722
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,645 Meal plan: $7,957	Room/dormitory: $7,210 Meal plan: $5,850
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	92.0% Average amount $8,167
Students receiving federal student loan	41.0% Average amount $4,834	33.0% Average amount $4,615
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $14,197	3.0% Average amount $11,314

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,566 Men 47.0% Women 53.0%	8,217 Men 42.6% Women 57.4%
Graduate students	610 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%	2,675 Men 30.7% Women 69.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	6.7%	N/A
International students	2.7%	0.9%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Town: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	3,755	1,788
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	Business Education Health Professions Psychology Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	20:1
Institutional accreditation	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	53.6%	49.6%
Dropout rate	44.0%	47.2%
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	Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $71,516 Year 2: $75,130 Year 3: $76,175 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,738 Year 2: $63,335 Year 3: $70,016 Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,361 Year 2: $62,707 Year 3: $67,620 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,357 Year 2: $56,979 Year 3: $67,340 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $69,595 Year 2: $66,355 Year 3: $64,552 Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $63,074 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,780 Year 2: $55,770 Year 3: $62,367 Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,875 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $61,920 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,800 Year 2: $54,331 Year 3: $59,835 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $49,118 Year 2: $53,894 Year 3: $59,009

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