I am going on a college trip with my parents later this year, and the schools we will be visiting are Utah State University, Whitman College, Washingon State University, and University of Idaho. I have already done lots of research on these schools, but was wondering if anyone has anything to add regarding quality of education, what the environment is like, or anything else about these 4 schools. The majors I am most interested in are engineering and biology/environmental science, I have a 34 ACT and 4.2 WGPA. Thanks!
how did you come up with this list?
Are you LDS?
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Money is definitely a large factor, so if anyone has any experience with financial aid or merit aid with these schools that would also be appreciated.
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do you know how much these schools will give?
what is your home state
how much will your family pay
I am a Whitman alum - Whitman doesn’t have an engineering degree. It does offer a 3-2 engineering program where the student completes years 4 and 5 at another institution: CalTech and Columbia University are partners. I don’t know how often anyone actually does this - the costs involved would seem to deter a lot of potential students.
We really liked Washington State University when we visited, although none of our daughters chose to attend. Don’t know anything about the engineering programs.
University of Washington has a great Engineering program.
A friend of mine transferred from USU to the University of Montana because of the extremely heavy LDS influence on the social scene. The University of Utah, which likely has a better engineering and ES program than Utah State, will feel more cosmopolitan. The school also gives good OOS scholarships for those who qualify.
I’m not familiar with U Idaho’s engineering program, but I do know its environmental science program quite well. The school is outstanding in the field. There are a great number of fieldwork opportunities as well as a huge diversity of classes thanks to its dual role as a lang grant institution. Supposedly the Pullman-Moscow area is a great place to go to college.
I saw on a previous post that money is a big concern for your family.
Check out this list of automatic scholarships. Your stats are very good.
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com
The University of Alabama is a very good school.
If you are a possible NMF, there are additional scholarships available.
I’m sorry but I don’t know anything about the schools in your post and apologize if this info is not wanted.
Home state is Colorado, and all of these schools (besides Whitman) are part of the WUE program which allows for cheaper OOS tuition. I am not LDS, and that is one of my main concerns about USU. Whitman is my number one choice and I am aware they do not have an engineering program. I came up with this list because my parents and I are going to visit family up in Northern Idaho this summer, and decided to make a college tour trip out of it 
These schools are basically on our way up there. Thanks everyone for the info!
Whitman is a very good liberal arts school with very strong environmental studies. They give some merit aid and are not ungenerous with need based. WUE is a nonstarter as it is not a public school.
Whoops - I hadn’t realized that you mentioned that you knew that Whitman is not a WUE school.
You might want to see if mods would retitle the thread Instead of the thread title being “Is anyone familiar with these schools?”, which requires people to open it up, you’ll get more targeted answers if you make it “Is anyone familiar with Utah State, Whitman College, Washington State, U of Idaho?” Or better yet, just "Perceptions of … " (and list those schools).
Done
ED
Mod
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Home state is Colorado, and all of these schools (besides Whitman) are part of the WUE program which allows for cheaper OOS tuition.
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When money is an issue, then WUE schools are rarely affordable.
WUE schools typically will NOT award merit on top of the WUE discount.
WUE schools typically do NOT give need based aid.
WUE rates are 150% of tuition…so COAs typically are $20k-30k per year. WHO WILL BE paying that $20k-30k per year? Your parents? If so, then super. If not, then WHO?
WUE schools are great for those who are full pay and want to go OOS.
I know that those with money concerns hear “discounts” with WUE schools and think, “Oh good, I need a discount.” Well, the discounts aren’t enough if money is a serious issue.
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am going on a college trip with my parents later this year, and the schools we will be visiting are Utah State University, Whitman College, Washingon State University, and University of Idaho.
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Before your family wastes a bunch of money on unaffordable schools…
How much will your parents pay EACH year?
YOU can borrow $5500 as a frosh (obviously not much).
How would you pay for a school that costs $25k per year?
Have you run the NPCs on the schools’ websites???
You really need to identify schools that will give you LOTS of aid. If your family has a modest income, then look for schools that meet need. If they will have an unaffordable EFC, then look for large merit.
Why don’t you write a bit more about your self, your wishes in a school (size, location, general vibe), how much your parents can pay for you to go to college, and your parents general income range.
Your ACT is stellar and your W GPA is impressive. What is your UW GPA? What are your ECs? Do you have a job?
You really need a good strategy when selecting schools if money is a big concern. If you plan properly, you should have some affordable and quality choices.
And some WUE schools place restrictions on available fields of study. Incidentally, you’re not likely to get much financial aid from the Washington public schools. They are looking for ‘full pay’ non-Washington residents. Other than that, WSU-Pullman can be a great place to attend college. It’s really a world away from Whitman academically because class sizes at WSU can be quite large. Nevertheless, Cougars are very loyal to their university. The education is quite solid, if under appreciated by folks on the west side of the state.
Whitman is a wonderful place. Great professors and small classes. My D got strong financial aid and you would most probably a strong merit scholarship. We are paying about what a U of California would cost for a private school. Not cheap, but our income is not low. The experience at Whitman would be very different from the state schools you list. If you think you would like a small school with friendly, hardworking, outdoorsy, liberal students, then Whitman would be wonderful. If you want a big school with more athletics and more diverse students, then perhaps one of the other schools would suit you better. But the educational experience at Whitman would probably be the best among these schools IMHO.
If you’re concerned about LDS influence then avoid Utah State.
Whitman is a stellar college but very different from the other colleges on the list, which are large, public, universities.