Western Washington University (WWU) vs Washington State University (WSU)

Nestled in the heart of Washington state, Western Washington University and Washington State University stand as two distinct beacons of higher education, each offering a unique blend of academic excellence and vibrant student life. While both universities share a commitment to providing top-notch education, they differ in several key aspects. Western Washington University boasts a higher acceptance rate, making it a more accessible option for aspiring students. In contrast, Washington State University has a lower acceptance rate, indicating a more selective admissions process. When it comes to popular majors, Western Washington University excels in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, while Washington State University shines in STEM fields, agriculture, and engineering. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve deeper into the acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates of these two esteemed institutions, and discover which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Washington State University	Western Washington University
Overview
Location	Pullman, Washington	Bellingham, Washington
Campus setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Quarter
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	81.0%	81.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	85.8%	96.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $100
SAT range	N/A	1090 - 1310
ACT range	N/A	22 - 29
Students submitting SAT score		16.0%
Students submitting ACT score		3.0%
Total number of applicants	18,197	10,580
Total number of admissions given out	15,607	10,167
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,007	2,874
Yield rate	25.7%	28.3%
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)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $28,767 Out of state: $44,083	In state: $26,634 Out of state: $43,861
Average net price	$11,877	$11,388
Tuition	In state: $10,457 Out of state: $25,773	In state: $7,572 Out of state: $24,799
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,400 Meal plan: $4,350	$13,079
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	86.0% Average amount $9,993	82.0% Average amount $7,112
Students receiving federal student loan	27.0% Average amount $5,042	29.0% Average amount $4,929
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $15,454	3.0% Average amount $15,435

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	24,278 Men 45.9% Women 54.1%	14,019 Men 42.6% Women 57.4%
Graduate students	5,565 Men 44.7% Women 55.3%	1,106 Men 36.4% Women 63.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	15.2%	N/A
International students	5.7%	1.0%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	7,043	3,985
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Washington California Oregon Idaho Hawaii	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Engineering Social Sciences Health Professions Education	Education Psychology Business Multidisciplinary Studies Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	17:1
Institutional accreditation	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	59.5%	67.7%
Dropout rate	38.1%	30.6%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $135,393 Year 3: $143,888 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $110,911 Year 2: $123,178 Year 3: $127,531 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $90,080 Year 2: $100,915 Year 3: $120,737 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $111,957 Year 2: $112,073 Year 3: $119,910 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $106,275 Year 2: $105,813 Year 3: $117,478 Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $82,971 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $96,760 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $76,468 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $88,746 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $80,693 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $81,535 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,112 Year 2: $68,808 Year 3: $80,939 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,531 Year 2: $72,881 Year 3: $79,650	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,837 Year 2: $81,333 Year 3: $92,019 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,492 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $78,577 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $60,314 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $76,877 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,624 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $71,599 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,592 Year 2: $60,920 Year 3: $64,540 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $60,325 Year 3: $64,302 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $46,243 Year 2: $49,572 Year 3: $60,999 Chemistry (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,788 Year 2: $37,748 Year 3: $58,090 Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,818 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: $57,268 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,065 Year 2: $45,696 Year 3: $57,167

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.