MSU Denver vs CWU-Ellensburg

Metropolitan State University of Denver and Central Washington University, both public universities with rich histories, offer distinct educational experiences. Metropolitan State, located in the vibrant city of Denver, Colorado, boasts a diverse student body and a wide range of academic programs, including popular majors in business, nursing, and criminal justice. Central Washington, nestled in the scenic town of Ellensburg, Washington, is known for its strong liberal arts foundation and popular majors in education, psychology, and biology. While both universities offer affordable tuition and a supportive learning environment, they differ in acceptance rates, student demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Central Washington University	Metropolitan State University of Denver
Overview
Location	Ellensburg, Washington	Denver, Colorado
Campus setting	Town: Distant	City: Large
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%	63.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.4%	88.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $25 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	910 - 1140
ACT range	N/A	18 - 24
Students submitting SAT score		32.0%
Students submitting ACT score		8.0%
Total number of applicants	10,767	11,306
Total number of admissions given out	9,523	10,042
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,371	1,832
Yield rate	14.4%	18.2%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	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: $30,721 Out of state: $48,202
Average net price	$17,645	$14,195
Tuition	In state: $6,656 Out of state: $23,184	In state: $8,280 Out of state: $25,761
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,645 Meal plan: $7,957
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan Other alternative tuition plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	80.0% Average amount $7,378	61.0% Average amount $6,912
Students receiving federal student loan	41.0% Average amount $4,834	57.0% Average amount $5,116
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $14,197	2.0% Average amount $10,638

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,566 Men 47.0% Women 53.0%	16,515 Men 44.1% Women 55.9%
Graduate students	610 Men 37.4% Women 62.6%	1,163 Men 21.6% Women 78.4%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	6.7%	2.4%
International students	2.7%	0.7%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	3,755	N/A
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	N/A
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Washington California Oregon Hawaii Arkansas	Colorado California Texas Arizona Florida

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Social Sciences Health Professions Visual & Performing Arts	Public Administration and Social Service Health Professions Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences Business
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	19:1
Institutional accreditation	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	53.6%	29.8%
Dropout rate	44.0%	26.8%
Transferred out	N/A	37.3%
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: $68,483 Year 2: $72,790 Year 3: $83,404 Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,535 Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: $70,061 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $60,241 Year 2: $58,131 Year 3: $68,317 Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,003 Year 2: $54,254 Year 3: $66,636 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,686 Year 2: $62,922 Year 3: $64,216 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,437 Year 2: $56,415 Year 3: $64,125 Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,154 Year 2: $57,770 Year 3: $61,122 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,504 Year 2: $51,551 Year 3: $58,317 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $48,409 Year 2: $48,376 Year 3: $55,676 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,189 Year 2: $44,356 Year 3: $54,984

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