Crib Sheet
Our 40 Northwest Colleges & Universities by the Numbers
It doesn’t take a genius to know it can be difficult to figure out which college to attend. A school that’s a perfect fit for the student who prefers the formality of a lecture hall might not be right for the one who learns best by getting out in the field. When faced with a foot-high pile of glossy college brochures all designed to woo, sometimes a cheat sheet that compares key numbers at a glance can help. Will your high school grades pass muster with the admissions team? Will you be able to graduate in four years? And, importantly, will you be able to graduate sans debt?
Nothing can replace a campus tour or meetings with students and professors when deciding where to spend what might be the best years of your life, but our list of 40 Oregon and Washington colleges and universities may help you decide which schools you might want to visit. (To pare down the list, we’ve excluded community colleges, vocational schools, institutions that issued fewer than 100 bachelor’s degrees in 2004, and schools that weren’t independently accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.)
To create our list, we polled the schools for information in 16 diferent categories, including things like average SAT scores and GPAs of entering freshmen, percentage of work-study funds that go to community service opportunities for students (allowing undergraduates to earn financial aid by doing things like tutoring instead of serving food at the cafeteria), and alumni giving rates (which can indicate students’ satisfaction with their alma mater). Read our full methodology here . Think of the list as a kind of CliffsNotes for Northwest colleges—like them, this chart should be considered a supplement. You still have to read the book, which in this case means taking the campus tour.
Now, go do your homework.
Central Washington University*
Location, Year Founded: Ellensburg, WA, 1891
Undergraduate Enrollment: 9,979
Yearly Tuition: In-State/Out-of-state: $4,841/$14,713
Avg. Financial Aid Package: $8,438
Acceptance Rate %: 80, Freshman Retention Rate %: 79
Midrange SAT Scores for Critical Reading; SAT Scores for Math: 430-550, 440-550
Avg GPA of Incoming Freshman: 3.2
% African American Students: 3, % Asian Students: 7, % Hispanic Students: 7
Avg Number of Years to Obtain Bachelor’s Degree, Alumni Giving Rate: 4.7, 6%
Number of Master’s Programs Offered, Number of Doctoral Programs Offered: 66, 0
Percent of Work-Study Funds Spent on Community Service: 16%
Concordia University
Location, Year Founded: Portland, 1905
Undergraduate Enrollment: 1,065
Yearly Tuition:$21,000
Avg. Financial Aid Package: $10,000
Acceptance Rate %: 60, Freshman Retention Rate %: 67
Midrange SAT Scores for Critical Reading; SAT Scores for Math: 519, 515
Avg GPA of Incoming Freshman: 3.3
% African American Students: 6*, % Asian Students: 4*, % Hispanic Students: 4*
Avg Number of Years to Obtain Bachelor’s Degree, Alumni Giving Rate: 4%, 15%
*Number of Master’s Programs Offered, Number of Doctoral Programs Offered: 3, 0
Percent of Work-Study Funds Spent on Community Service: 20
Corban College*
Location, Year Founded: Salem, 1935
Undergraduate Enrollment: 901
Yearly Tuition: $19,084
Avg. Financial Aid Package: $14,326
Acceptance Rate %: 81, Freshman Retention Rate %: 72
Midrange SAT Scores for Critical Reading; SAT Scores for Math: 495-610, 460-590
Avg GPA of Incoming Freshman: 3.5
% African American Students: 5, % Asian Students: 3, % Hispanic Students: 1
Avg Number of Years to Obtain Bachelor’s Degree, Alumni Giving Rate: 4.2, 8%
Number of Master’s Programs Offered, Number of Doctoral Programs Offered: 2, 0
Percent of Work-Study Funds Spent on Community Service:7%
Cornish College of the Arts
Location, Year Founded: Seattle, WA, 1914
Undergraduate Enrollment: 815
Yearly Tuition: $23,700
Avg. Financial Aid Package: $6,500
Acceptance Rate %: N/A, Freshman Retention Rate %: 69
Midrange SAT Scores for Critical Reading; SAT Scores for Math: N/A
Avg GPA of Incoming Freshman: N/A
% African American Students: 4, % Asian Students: 4, % Hispanic Students: 4
Avg Number of Years to Obtain Bachelor’s Degree, Alumni Giving Rate: 4, 14%
Number of Master’s Programs Offered, Number of Doctoral Programs Offered: 0,0
Percent of Work-Study Funds Spent on Community Service: 17%
Eastern Oregon University
Location, Year Founded: La Grande, 1929
Undergraduate Enrollment: 3,032
Yearly Tuition: $6,241
Avg. Financial Aid Package: $12, 665*
Acceptance Rate %: 78, Freshman Retention Rate %: 66
Midrange SAT Scores for Critical Reading; SAT Scores for Math: 418-530, 410-530
Avg GPA of Incoming Freshman: 3.2
% African American Students: 1, % Asian Students: 2, % Hispanic Students: 4
Avg Number of Years to Obtain Bachelor’s Degree, Alumni Giving Rate: 4.7, 9%
Number of Master’s Programs Offered, Number of Doctoral Programs Offered: 3, 0
Percent of Work-Study Funds Spent on Community Service: 30%
Published: December 2008
