CWU-Ellensburg vs Western Carolina University (WCU)

Central Washington University (CWU) and Western Carolina University (WCU) are two public universities located in the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast, respectively. Both institutions offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, but there are some key differences between the two. CWU has a higher acceptance rate (84%) compared to WCU (73%), and its student body is slightly larger, with over 12,000 students enrolled compared to WCU's 11,000. CWU is known for its strong programs in education, business, and nursing, while WCU is known for its programs in nursing, education, and engineering. Additionally, CWU has a higher graduation rate (62%) compared to WCU (58%). To help you make an informed decision about which university is the best fit for you, we have compiled a comprehensive comparison table that highlights the key differences between CWU and WCU.

	Central Washington University	Western Carolina University
Overview
Location	Ellensburg, Washington	Cullowhee, North Carolina
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Town: Distant
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%	75.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.4%	79.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	N/A	1060 - 1230
ACT range	N/A	19 - 25
Students submitting SAT score		12.0%
Students submitting ACT score		43.0%
Total number of applicants	10,767	12,308
Total number of admissions given out	9,523	9,775
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,371	1,729
Yield rate	14.4%	17.7%
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: $19,349 Out of state: $23,349
Average net price	$17,645	$13,082
Tuition	In state: $6,656 Out of state: $23,184	In state: $1,000 Out of state: $5,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,645 Meal plan: $7,957	Room/dormitory: $6,403 Meal plan: $5,029
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	73.0% Average amount $5,772
Students receiving federal student loan	41.0% Average amount $4,834	56.0% Average amount $4,850
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $14,197	9.0% Average amount $9,396

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,566 Men 47.0% Women 53.0%	10,145 Men 43.6% Women 56.4%
Graduate students	610 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%	1,732 Men 32.1% Women 67.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Very Low
Out-of-state students	6.7%	17.7%
International students	2.7%	1.7%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	3,755	3,815
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	North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Tennessee

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Social Sciences Health Professions Visual & Performing Arts	Health Professions Education Business Public Administration and Social Service Engineering Technologies
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	53.6%	61.4%
Dropout rate	44.0%	10.2%
Transferred out	N/A	27.5%
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	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $97,321 Year 2: $103,913 Year 3: $103,661 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,207 Year 2: $64,990 Year 3: $72,372 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,769 Year 2: $53,775 Year 3: $72,367 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $65,460 Year 2: $67,324 Year 3: $68,635 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,202 Year 2: $58,221 Year 3: $64,334 Engineering Technology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,173 Year 2: $54,996 Year 3: $63,171 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $64,798 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $61,637 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,571 Year 2: $55,512 Year 3: $59,030 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,835 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $58,930 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,362 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $57,003

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