Best WUE schools for Business

Hi - I’m new to this forum and wanted to know if anyone has thoughts about the best WUE schools for Business. My son is a junior with a 3.5 GPA and will be taking the SAT this weekend. He’s looking for a mid to large school with school spirit and wants to study Business. He’s looking at Boise State, University of Idaho, University of Utah, Northern Arizona University or Washington State University as we live in Washington State. We toured UNLV but thats a commuter school so we crossed that off the list. Thoughts? Thank you in advance!

I’d look at Cal State Chico, Cal Poly Pomona, and Colorado State in addition to the ones you listed.

Note: not all majors are WUE eligible, so check to see if business is on the list.

I can’t speak to the business schools at the WUE schools, but I’ll just add that, in my opinion, Boise, Flagstaff (NAU), and Fort Collins (CSU) are A or A+ towns for a college student. All very beautiful and with things to do, especially for an outdoors-minded student. I’d be happy to live in any of them.

Above advice is great. WUE really expands opportunities for students in the West, but there are important restrictions, and it’s an advantage to apply early because sometimes spots are limited. We have family in NV who are going to be looking at opportunities among WUE schools two years from now. Good luck!

Great, thank you for the added schools to look at!

Are you happy to be full pay even at WUE rates? 150%? You don’t expect any further discounts.scholarships etc?

    If you can, get him to work on that GPA. U of Utah is very GPA focused. 

I have a student at Boise now who loves it. Be sure to have your son apply early and to the honors program. My student likes it a lot. I like Utah, but again apply early. I like Washington State and I don’t like NAU. In the past it has accepted students from our community who were less than serious students or had discipline problems so I don’t think it is as academic as the other colleges on your list. As suggested by others, be sure to check the WUE requirements at each school because they might be different for business majors. Also some colleges may let you stack scholarships on top of WUE. I would add University of Nevada (located in Reno) to your list. I have had students go there who really enjoyed it and they let you stack scholarships so it really makes it affordable.

Thank you all for your input. Does Boise State have a good on-campus feel? I’ve read that some people say its more like a commuter school? I hope we can stack more discounts on top of WUE, but I guess that’s up to my son to either hold or raise his 3.537 gpa as he is a junior right now. We’ll look at University of Nevada too - I hadn’t thought of that school. Thanks again for all the advice!

I’ll second a few already listed above - Chico is pretty unique in that it is a true college town, and has a very good biz program (my older son just graduated w a Finance degree and LOVED it). UNR and Boise are good, both have tons of school spirit, but get kind of swallowed up by their metro areas - which is good and bad. CPP is also a good option and has been working hard to add housing on/near campus.

A couple not mentioned above - Sac State’s biz program is on par with UNR and Boise but, it doesn’t snow, U of Hawaii would be fun to visit too.

My younger son is a freshman at Ft Lewis, a WUE school in Durango CO. it is BEAUTIFUL and has a decent business program. The allure for him is their mountain bike team, the defending national champs who gave him a partial scholarship to ride for them. It is smaller than your son seems to have in mind but, is a really cool place to visit. My point in bringing it up is, that there are LOTS of really good schools on that WUE list. Since a full load of classes is just 15 hours a week or so, that leaves lots of time to do other stuff. Being surrounded by the things he likes to do, and people who also like to do them, will go a long way in ensuring his success in college.

This is great information! Thank you all for your advice - it really is helpful in our search!

Chico State is often overlooked, because it is located in an small, isolated town that most out-of-staters have never heard of. However, Chico just happens to be one of the top college towns in California:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/travel/article/Chico-an-outdoor-destination-as-well-as-a-great-11206116.php

Cal Poly Pomona is well respected academically, and is located on the outer fringe of the Greater Los Angeles area. However, CPP is known as a “commuter school”, which is not surprising given that is located within commuting distance of literally millions of people. CPP is not located in a particularly exciting part of the LA area, and there is little or no “college town” vibe in the adjacent communities.

Two other WUE schools in California that you might want to consider are Humboldt State and UC Merced. Humboldt and Chico are arguably the only WUE schools in California that offer a real college town environment. However, Arcata is even more isolated than Chico, and is located on the far northern coast, with more of an alternative Pacific Northwest vibe.

Merced is the only UC that offers that WUE discount. It is the newest and smallest UC campus. The UC brand has a lot of name recognition, but the campus location is often considered less than ideal. It is located in a pasture outside of the city of Merced, which does not have a reputation for student-oriented services or entertainment.

Good information…much appreciated! Thank you!

The big downside to Humboldt is that it is extremely isolated. It’s 5 hours from San Francisco. There’s a small airport in Eureka but I don’t know how many flights it offers. That makes it a real pain to get to. It’s been a few years since I’ve been up that way but I didn’t really like the vibe of the towns of Arcata and Eureka. The (then-illegal) heavy marijuana cultivation and the homeless & Rainbow Family travelers just gave it a icky feel to me.

My son had applied to Montana State and got WUE for them, but the logistics of travel make it the first school eliminated from his list. From SF you had very few options for flights, and lots that required a plane change in Seattle or Salt Lake City.

Neither Chico State nor Humboldt State are easy to get to. On the other hand, this is precisely why they are not commuter schools, unlike other most campuses in the California State University system. Everybody lives on-campus or in town nearby, and they don’t leave the campus area in the evening or on weekends, because it’s too far to go home. The high concentration of residential students is what creates the “college town” vibe.

There is currently no airline service to Chico. It’s a ninety-minute drive north from Sacramento Airport.

As noted above, it is a very long drive from Humboldt State to anywhere. There is a regional airport nearby, with connections to SF and Sacramento. Rainy wet forested area that feels geographically and culturally like the Pacific NW, although politically it is in California. The hippie alternative vibe is not for everyone; Chico State is much more mainstream.

There are, of course, other good college towns in California too, like Davis or San Luis Obispo. But they are significantly harder to get into, and don’t offer the WUE discount. If you want more reasonable out-of-state tuition, and you want to avoid commuter schools, then Chico State and Humboldt State are the best bets in California.


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hope we can stack more discounts on top of WUE, but I guess that's up to my son to either hold or raise his 3.537

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Scholarships are mostly based on test scores.

Also, WUE schools usually do not stack scholarships on top of the WUE discount. That’s why @Sybylia asked if you’re ok with paying 150%. The WUE discount mostly only benefits the more affuent as they’re the ones who can happily pay the whole cost without aid.

If you can pay the 150% cost then super. If not, then don’t tour unaffordable schools because your child may love one and then you’ll have to say no.

What are your instate options besides WSU? What amount can you pay each year?

That is a very good point regarding the logistics of getting to campus or visiting for that matter…thank you

Another factor to consider is the local economy for internship possibilities. Boise is a pretty healthy city.

UNR! It’s an amazing school. A hidden gem, really.

Oh I didn’t realize they don’t stack more scholarships on top of WUE for good grades/test scores. My son would prefer going out of Washington for college. His first choice is University of Arizona but they are not in WUE for Business and out-of-state tuition there is too high. We will be touring University of Idaho and Boise State in a couple weeks for starters. He likes the warmer weather climate with a decent active campus. My preference would be that the school is fairly easy to travel to/from with close proximity to an airport. Thanks again to everyone for your advice!

We are CA residents and looked at in state and WUE schools only. The university of Utah only gives on 35 wues a year, but was very generous with merit aid. Requirements are 3.0 and then depending on your test scores up to $12,000 off per year. Pac 12 school so fun sports. My son was admitted to the Business Scholars program - look it up because it looks amazing. Field trips, business etiquette luncheons, internships, etc. The CA schools are so impacted right now it’s hard to get in anywhere decent unless you are a top student. Friends kid goes to Boise state and loves it. Easy to qualify for WUE too. Each school has different wue requirements so look closely. I loved Reno’s campus- beautiful and the technology was amazing, generous with WUE, but Reno is not a great college town. About an hour from Lake Tahoe.

Thank you - this information is very helpful and appreciated!