Exploring your options; that's what the college search process is all about, right? In terms of options, the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE) has some great news for students living in any of the states pictured above - over 100 schools in these states participate in the Western Undergraduate Exchange Program. What that means for you is that you can study at any of these institutions at tuition rates significantly less than what you would normall pay as an out of state student.
Of course, as with many things, it's not quite that simple. Not all public institutions in these states participate. Some only participate on a limited basis (University of Oregon, for example, only takes very few WUE students, and currently doesn't accept WUE students from California). Some institutions only accept WUE students to certain majors, so you have to look at the specifics for each school.
If you look at the overall picture, however, there are approximately 150 schools that do participate, and most of them have few restrictions on WUE students. Last year, approximately 29,000 students participated in this program, saving a combined total of about $223.8 million in tuition.
At this point, you may be wondering what types of institutions participate in the WUE program. Participating institutions include both 2-year and 4-year public colleges and universities, except in California and Hawaii, where community colleges do not participate. Participating schools include:
- University of Alaska (Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kenai, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Mat-Su, Sitka, and Southeast)
- Arizona State University
- University of Arizona
- California State University, Chico
- Colorado State University, Pueblo
- University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
- University of Hawaii, Hilo and Manoa
- University of Montana
- University of Nevada, Reno
- University of North Dakota
- Western Oregon University
- Southern Utah University
- Western Washington University
- University of Wyoming
and many, many more. To give you an idea of how this works financially, let's take Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington.
Normal out-of-state tuition: $16, 815
WUE tuition rate: $8,815
Including fees, housing, meals, books, etc; total estimated cost of attendance: $22, 793
Compare this to CSU Chico:
Tuition (CA resident): $6890
Total estimated cost of attendance: $23,444
In other words, for a California resident under the WUE program, the total cost of attending Western Washington (out of state) is about $700 less than attending CSU Chico (in state).
I'm not suggesting every California student rush to study at Western Washington University. I am, however, encouraging you to expand your options, and not eliminate the possibility of out of state schools based solely on price.
There is no centralized WUE application, students must ask for the WUE tuition reduction (sometimes referred to as a WUE scholarship) at each school they apply to. For more information, visit the WICHE website: http://www.wiche.edu/wue.
Of course, I do realize I've just made the process of choosing a college that much more difficult by giving you about 150 more affordable options. I'm OK with that.
