Western Colorado University vs CWU-Ellensburg

Western Colorado University and Central Washington University, both located in picturesque regions of the United States, offer distinct educational experiences. Western Colorado University, nestled in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, boasts a lower acceptance rate and a smaller student body, fostering a close-knit community. Central Washington University, situated in the vibrant city of Ellensburg, offers a more diverse student body and a higher acceptance rate, providing a dynamic and inclusive learning environment. While both universities excel in various academic programs, Western Colorado University is renowned for its strong engineering and natural sciences programs, while Central Washington University shines in business and education. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these institutions' unique strengths, graduation rates, and other key factors that will help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	Central Washington University	Western Colorado University
Overview
Location	Ellensburg, Washington	Gunnison, Colorado
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	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.4%	90.9%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $30 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	1040 - 1230
ACT range	N/A	21 - 26
Students submitting SAT score		37.0%
Students submitting ACT score		11.0%
Total number of applicants	10,767	3,243
Total number of admissions given out	9,523	2,947
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,371	456
Yield rate	14.4%	15.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not 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: $26,956 Out of state: $38,740
Average net price	$17,645	$17,490
Tuition	In state: $6,656 Out of state: $23,184	In state: $6,816 Out of state: $18,600
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,645 Meal plan: $7,957	Room/dormitory: $5,200 Meal plan: $4,790
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	87.0% Average amount $8,085
Students receiving federal student loan	41.0% Average amount $4,834	56.0% Average amount $4,669
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $14,197	7.0% Average amount $12,501

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,566 Men 47.0% Women 53.0%	3,241 Men 51.4% Women 48.6%
Graduate students	610 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%	448 Men 31.2% Women 68.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	6.7%	34.9%
International students	2.7%	0.3%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	3,755	1,241
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 Texas California Alaska Illinois

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Social Sciences Health Professions Visual & Performing Arts	Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Natural Resources and Conservation Business Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	18:1
Institutional accreditation	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	53.6%	47.6%
Dropout rate	44.0%	32.8%
Transferred out	N/A	17.2%
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	Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: $50,432 Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $29,076 Year 2: $40,365 Year 3: $45,493 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $42,272 Year 2: $40,488 Year 3: $43,479 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,324 Year 2: $33,281 Year 3: $39,884 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,326 Year 2: $28,405 Year 3: $39,040 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,244 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $37,581 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $18,798 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $36,678 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $39,585 Year 3: $35,898 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,963 Year 2: $27,947 Year 3: $35,691 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,793 Year 2: $27,874 Year 3: $34,114

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