Cal Poly Humboldt vs CWU-Ellensburg

California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt and Central Washington University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Humboldt, nestled amidst the breathtaking redwood forests of Arcata, California, boasts a lower acceptance rate, indicating its selectivity. Central Washington University, located in the vibrant city of Ellensburg, Washington, offers a more accessible admissions process. While Humboldt's student body is predominantly White, Central Washington University's student population is more diverse, reflecting the richness of its surrounding community. Explore the comprehensive comparison table to delve into further details, including popular majors, graduation rates, and additional factors that may influence your academic journey.

	Central Washington University	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt
Overview
Location	Ellensburg, Washington	Arcata, California
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%	74.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.4%	91.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70
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	7,013
Total number of admissions given out	9,523	6,414
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,371	629
Yield rate	14.4%	9.8%
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	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $22,248 Out of state: $38,776	In state: $25,668 Out of state: $37,548
Average net price	$17,645	$13,904
Tuition	In state: $6,656 Out of state: $23,184	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,645 Meal plan: $7,957	Room/dormitory: $6,638 Meal plan: $5,600
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	75.0% Average amount $9,716
Students receiving federal student loan	41.0% Average amount $4,834	36.0% Average amount $4,831
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $14,197	1.0% Average amount $12,255

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,566 Men 47.0% Women 53.0%	5,354 Men 41.6% Women 58.4%
Graduate students	610 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%	554 Men 30.0% Women 70.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	6.7%	7.0%
International students	2.7%	1.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	3,755	2,069
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	California Oregon Washington Colorado Hawaii

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Social Sciences Health Professions Visual & Performing Arts	Natural Resources and Conservation Psychology Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Liberal Arts Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	53.6%	47.5%
Dropout rate	44.0%	42.0%
Transferred out	N/A	7.8%
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	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,497 Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $69,150 Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,856 Year 2: $48,265 Year 3: $60,145 Psychology, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $58,243 Social Work (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,405 Year 2: $53,045 Year 3: $57,583 Forestry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,805 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $46,240 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $49,362 Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $45,717 Social Work (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,892 Year 2: $28,236 Year 3: $42,797 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,215 Year 2: $36,294 Year 3: $41,528 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,882 Year 2: $25,967 Year 3: $39,496 Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,867 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $37,639

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.