Western Washington University (WWU) vs Whitman College

Western Washington University and Whitman College, both esteemed institutions in the Pacific Northwest, offer distinct educational experiences. Western, a public university located in Bellingham, boasts an acceptance rate of 84%, a diverse student body, and popular majors in business, psychology, and biology. Whitman, a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, is more selective with an acceptance rate of 56%, features a smaller student body with a strong emphasis on the humanities and sciences, and is known for its majors in biology, economics, and English. While Western's larger size provides a vibrant campus life and diverse course offerings, Whitman's intimate setting fosters close-knit communities and personalized attention. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover which institution aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Western Washington University	Whitman College
Overview
Location	Bellingham, Washington	Walla Walla, Washington
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	81.0%	89.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	96.1%	59.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $100	$50
SAT range	1090 - 1310	1295 - 1455
ACT range	22 - 29	29 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	16.0%	21.0%
Students submitting ACT score	3.0%	19.0%
Total number of applicants	10,580	5,155
Total number of admissions given out	10,167	3,039
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,874	477
Yield rate	28.3%	15.7%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $26,634 Out of state: $43,861	$71,982
Average net price	$11,388	$35,627
Tuition	In state: $7,572 Out of state: $24,799	$55,560
Room & board	$13,079	Room/dormitory: $6,080 Meal plan: $7,720
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	82.0% Average amount $7,112	91.0% Average amount $30,781
Students receiving federal student loan	29.0% Average amount $4,929	42.0% Average amount $4,853
Students taking out private loans	3.0% Average amount $15,435	2.0% Average amount $14,105

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	14,019 Men 42.6% Women 57.4%	1,559 Men 43.9% Women 56.1%
Graduate students	1,106 Men 36.4% Women 63.6%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	65.0%
International students	1.0%	10.2%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	3,985	886
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Washington California Oregon Colorado Minnesota

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Psychology Business Multidisciplinary Studies Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Visual & Performing Arts English Language and Literature Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	67.7%	88.7%
Dropout rate	30.6%	1.6%
Transferred out	N/A	8.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,596 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $64,407 Visual and Performing Arts, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: $43,330 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,051 Year 2: $22,999 Year 3: $41,844 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,549 Year 2: $27,584 Year 3: $39,355 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $18,868 Year 3: N/A Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,472 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: N/A Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: N/A Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A

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.