<h4 id="section---Cons"> Cons</h4> <ul><li>Total annual cost of attendance is $3,591 higher for state residents and $1,794 higher for non-residents than the national average </li><li>Annual cost of room and board is $120 higher than the national average </li><li>Four-year graduation rate is 12 percentage points lower than the national average </li><li>Student-faculty ratio is 21:1, which is higher than the national average </li></ul><h3 id="section---RankingsSchoolAnalysis"> Rankings &amp; School Analysis</h3> <p>CWU was ranked #50 on the <i>U.S. News &amp; World Report</i>'s regional list for western universities in 2011. It offers a wide variety of undergraduate majors in the Colleges of Business; Arts and Humanities; Sciences; and Education and Professional Studies. In addition, you can choose from 11 pre-professional programs, including pre-law, pre-pharmacy, and pre-dentistry. Classes are also held at off-campus centers located at eight community colleges in the state of Washington. The Ellensburg campus has an on-campus daycare facility for students with children. CWU also offers academic and career counseling, and it provides remedial, employment, and placement services for its students. </p> <p>The annual cost of attendance, including living expenses, books, supplies, room and board, was $3,591 higher than the national average for in-state students during the 2011-2012 school year, and the rate for room and board was slightly higher as well, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). CWU's graduation rate of 28% was 12 percentage points lower than the national average for students starting in 2005 and graduating in 2009; however, the College Board reports that student debt at graduation averaged $18,539 in 2011, which was significantly lower than the national average of $26,660. Furthermore, while the student-faculty ratio is higher than the national average, CWU has a low number of TAs teaching classes (18% in 2011, according to the NCES), which means that most of your classes would be taught by full-time faculty. </p> <h2 id="section---GettingInFinancialAidAtCentralWashingtonUniversity"> Getting In &amp; Financial Aid at Central Washington University</h2> <p>You can apply to CWU online and pay the $50 application fee by credit or debit card. The application deadline for the fall quarter of 2013 was March 1. You can also apply later if you want to start classes during a later quarter, but your options for financial aid may be limited later in the year. The priority deadline for financial aid was March 13, 2013 for the 2013-2014 academic year, and scholarship applications were accepted between October 1 and March 1. </p> <p>According to the NCES, the 2011 undergraduate acceptance rate was 78%. If you have a 3.4 high school GPA and have satisfied all of the College Academic Distribution Requirements (CADRs), you can be admitted to CWU; you must submit ACT or SAT scores, but they will be used only for placement and scholarship purposes. If your GPA is below 3.4, or if you have not met all CADRs, your admission will depend on a combination of factors, such as grades, test scores, senior year courses, and/or essay responses. </p> <p /> <table border="1"><tr><th> Application and Tuition Info </th><th /></tr> <tr><td> <i>Regular Application Deadline (2013)</i> </td><td> March 1*</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>Financial Aid Priority Application Deadline (2013-2014)</i> </td><td> March 15, 2013*</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>Application Fee (2013)</i> </td><td> $50**</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>Acceptance Rate (2011)</i> </td><td> 78%**</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>All Tuition &amp; Living Expenses (2011-2012)</i> </td><td> $20,727 for state residents, $31,497 for non-residents**</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>Average Financial Aid Package (2011)</i> </td><td> $10,533****</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>Percent of Students with Need Met (2011)</i> </td><td> 73%****</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>Average Student Debt at Graduation (2011)</i> </td><td> $18,539****</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>Student Loan Default Rate (2009)</i> </td><td> 4.6%**</td></tr> </table><h2 id="section---LifeAtCentralWashingtonUniversity"> Life at Central Washington University</h2> <p>While Ellensberg is not a large city, the area surrounding CWU offers activities as varied as skiing, fishing, marathons, and cattle drives. Ellensberg is 90 minutes from Seattle and 40 miles from Yakima Air Terminal, a regional airport. CWU offers around 125 student clubs and organizations, so you can find campus activities whether you're interested in art, skiing, music, law, or sign language. In addition, CWU has 11 varsity athletic teams, including nationally ranked rugby, football, and basketball teams. </p> <p>This college's Student Union and Recreation Center (SURC) is the largest building on campus. SURC houses the bookstore and dining facility as well as recreational facilities like a rock-climbing wall, an indoor track, and saunas. If you choose to live on campus, you have 19 residence halls and four apartment complexes from which to choose. </p> <p /> <table border="1"><tr><th> Student Life Info </th><th /></tr> <tr><td> <i>Campus Setting</i> </td><td> Small town**</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>Student Population (2011)</i> </td><td> 10,770 undergraduates, 550 graduate students**</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>Male-to-Female Student Ratio (2011)</i> </td><td> 49% to 51%**</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>% of Full-Time Students (2011)</i> </td><td> 88%**</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>% of In-state Students (2010)</i> </td><td> 95%**</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>% of International Students (2010)</i> </td><td> 1%**</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>Retention Rate (2010-2011)</i> </td><td> 78% of full-time students**</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>Campus Housing Available</i> </td><td> Yes**</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>% of Students Living on Campus</i> </td><td> 34%****</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>Number of Libraries</i> </td><td> One*</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>Extracurricular Activities</i> </td><td> More than 125 student organizations*</td></tr> <tr><td> <i>Noteworthy</i> </td><td> Largest population of online students in the state*</td></tr> </table><p><i>Sources: *Central Washington University, **National Center for Education Statistics, ***U.S. News &amp; World Report, ****College Board.</i> </p> <h3 id="section---SchoolContactInformation"> School Contact Information</h3> <ul><li><i>Address:</i> Central Washington University, Mitchell Hall, 1st Floor, 400 E. University Way, Ellensburg, WA 98926-7463 </li><li><i>Phone:</i> (509) 963-1211</li></ul>