Currently research on some safety schools, and seems both CWU and PSU have fairly high admission rates. Just wondering if anyone got comment on these 2 schools? My intended major will be psychology, and am a transfer student from Washington State community college. Will be paying OOS tuition for either CWU or PSU
Just had a family member return from PSU.
Depends upon your career objectives & whether or not you prefer being in a city.
CWU has a significant percentage of business students, whereas PSU focuses on education.
(CWU by major area of study = business, education, homeland security & firefighting.)
For a psychology major, Portland should offer some great internship & externship opportunities. Plus, students love Portland !
We are near Seattle and know a whole bunch of students and graduates of Central. They tend to be the kids who are smart enough for going to college but didn’t apply themselves much in high school. It has a nice campus. Parties are great. Ellensburg is a western town out there in the farm fields, ranches, and orchards of the Yakima Valley. Some kids we know have really hit their stride and excelled academically. Others, not so much.
Portland State would be considered slightly better academically but a very different animal in almost every other way. Campus is urban intersected by busy streets, serviced by bus lines and the MAX streetcars. Much of the student body is local commuters and older, part-time students. It’s in a lively part of the city with a lot to do within walking distance. My oldest lives just south of Portland, works with and is friends with many graduates. Like Publisher said, getting undergrad experiences and a job from here would be easier. If you are not used to it, the number of homeless downtown will be a shock.
Best of luck.
@Magnetron: I agree with your comments. Just want to add that visible homeless population is present in all major West Coast cities including Seattle, Portland & San Francisco.
@Publisher I had to look up Washington State Community College and it is in Ohio near the WV border. We live right outside of Seattle and even my kids were shocked by the homeless density in Portland. I just got back from SF and that is even worse.
@ebsclsgs , it won’t be as common around the Portland State campus and it’s not really scary at all. It is a vibrant and fun city.
I concur with all that has been said. They are very different living experiences between those two cities.
Being from Oregon, I think that PSU is probably the most underrated school in the system. They have a very good social work graduate program too.
What’s your home state if you’re at CC in WA but would pay OOS at CWU?
Thank you all for the insights!
On the other hand, how would you guys think of PSU vs U of Oregon and Oregon State U?
UO and OSU are major campuses in smaller cities with PAC-12 sports. Academically they are equivalent and would be considered a step above PSU. I know a few kids at each as out-of-state students. OSU has the engineering school and would be a little more techy, UO a little more arty. Eugene is a bigger city than Corvallis and is considered a bit nicer, though neither is that remarkable other than the benefits of being in Oregon.
Of the two, UO seems the more obvious choice for psychology (available at both). PSU is still a great option being near the med school and other Portland opportunities.
What state are you from and why did you decide to attend a community college that wasn’t in you r home state? I’m assuming this to be the case because you said you’d be OOS at CWU.
OSU will be by far the most expensive of the 4 you’ve mentioned and all 4 are very very different from each other. I also am curious why WA and OR if you are in Ohio. There are arguably less expensive but similar opportunities closer.
Are you able and willing to pay full price at all of these? For the major I’d agree OSU is likely the best but I’d also say it isn’t worth the OOS price tag.
If you want the PNW but are out of state and paying full price you might be better served looking at some of the private school options that are known for the major.
@eyemgh basically am an international student, so it doesn’t make much difference which state I go. Hope this clarifies
A BS alone in psychology isn’t super useful. Do you have plans beyond that?
possibly a getting a double degree in business or go for a MBA
I’d pick the one with the best business school then, as that aspect of your degree will be more useful. If you were going to consider something like social work, I might advise you otherwise. PSU has a very good MSW program. Good luck!