Getting To Know: Washington State University
Washington State University is, like Texas Tech, a flagship state university with many majors and achievable admissions in a relatively isolated place.
Adding to its appeal is its membership in the Western Undergraduate Exchange with fairly generous awards for out-of-state students from West Coast states. I watched The College Tour program on Washington State and took a dive into available data on the university. I have to thank John Sy, a fellow counselor and graduate of Washington State, for the photo up top. I hope that you will read on!
Washington State is the Land Grant University for the State of Washington.
Land Grant schools were established in every state to offer education in agriculture and engineering, though most are comprehensive universities that offer far more. Washington State was originally founded as the Washington Agricultural College and School of Science. It became Washington State University in 1959 with the establishment of an honors college that opened the following year. Today, the main campus has just under 23,000 undergrads. The Honors College has 650 and offers its own scholarships.
Washington State is not exceptionally selective.
Over the past four cycles, over 80 percent of all applicants to the main campus have been accepted. Test scores are helpful for securing scholarships, but admissions remain test optional.
A freshman class will have around 3,500 students. That’s smaller than the more selective University of California campuses as well as the University of Oregon. While the scholarship awards can approach generous levels for non-residents, only 13 percent of the undergraduate student body comes from outside Washington.
Washington State seems to lose about a fifth of a class each year.
The attrition rate is higher than every University of California campus as well as the University of Oregon. Less than ha;f of a freshman class will graduate on time. The better news is that over half of the Class of 2024 graduated with no debt. Among those who borrowed the average indebtedness was less than $25,000. That’s $2,000 less than the maximum that they could borrow over four years from the Federal Student Loan Program.
Why would someone choose Washington State University?
My comments will apply only to the main campus; there are multiple campuses in this university system. I felt that the best reasons to choose Washington State related to the academics and the scholarship opportunities. Students who might not get into one of the more selective UC campuses or Cal Poly San Luis Obispo might have more access to research and honors opportunities at Washington State. Another plus: students can apply Undeclared then opt for an exploratory path for the first year. That’s becoming harder to do at flagship state schools.
Here are three examples of special academic opportunities at Washington State:
The Honors Pre-Admit Program in Veterinary Medicine.
There are only 24 accredited programs in veterinary medicine that are based at public universities, and Washington State has one of them. Washington State is also one of the few publics that has an early admission (from high school) or early entry program.
Depth of programs in agriculture and natural resources
Some of these programs like Viticulture, the science of winemaking, are tough to find anywhere. The Palouse, home to the campus, is an agricultural heart of the state.
Selecyion of programs in the School of Design and Construction
Again, the depth in impressive, though the school does not offer the Bachelor of Architecture that leads to licensure. Students apply to Architectural Studies, which does not require a portfolio. Those who complete the program may apply for a Master of Architecture degree, to for graduate programs in other areas such as city and regional planning.
What else is useful to know about Washington State?
It’s only eight miles from Moscow, home to the University of Idaho.
Pullman and Moscow share a regional airport. The downside is that direct flights will not be easy to find. It might be better for some students to ride a shuttle to Spokae, which is about 90 minutes away.
Although Pullman Washington is host to one fairly large university and close to another flagship, it is still a very isolated place.
Social life is more likely to be campus and outdoor recreation based. Pullman is a four-seasons community where snow will fall in the wintertime. Over a fifth of the undergraduate student body is engaged in Greek social life. While Washington State’s undergraduate population is about the same size as the University of Iowa’s, Pullman has far fewer downtown amenities than Iowa City. The flip side: it’s a more affordable community than the larger West Coast cities, especially for rentals. That’s good news considering that the university can accommodate only a quarter of the student body. .
This is a “founding school” for the “New PAC 12 Conference.”
here’s been a lot of spirit and love for the Cougars (ka “Coogs”) during their times in the old PAC 12. The cougar logo is one of the nicest and most recognizable in college sports. The Coogs have produced talent at quarterback for the NFL including Drew Bledsoe, Ryan Leaf, Mark Rypien,Timm Rosenbach and Gardner Minshew, among others. Rypien led the Washington Redskins (now the Commanders) to a Super Bowl win in 1991. Bledsoe is best remembered as the last quarterback of the New England Patriots before Tom Brady. However, he was the very first pick in his draft class (1993) and took the Patriots to the Super Bowl on his own five years before Brady would succeed him. He would have a very successful 14-year career in the NFL.
However, more recently, Washington State and long-time rival Oregon State were left as the only members of a conference whose other members defected to other conferences. The new PAC 12 is a blend of six former Mountain West schools with Washington State and Oregon State and Gonzaga (which does not play football).
This looks like a stronger conference for men’s basketball than football, which looks like “Boise State and everyone else.” I can picture basketball trips to/from Gonzaga in the future, maybe to/from Boise State for football. But it’s going to be nothing like U-Dub or Oregon fans coming into Pullman on a football weekend. Martin Stadium was, and still is, a small venue for major college football with fewer than 33,000 seats. It will have the third fewest seats in the new PAC 12 after Utah State and Texas State.
Conclusions
Washington State University seems a lot like Texas Tech in good ways: achievable admissions and scholarship opportunities as well as an exceptional selection of academic programs. It’s also like Texas Tech in that the campus is relatively isolated when compared to the higher-profile flagship in the state. Texas Tech sports, however, have managed to remain in a power conference while Washington State was left without one. Maybe a winning sports program will keep the Coog Spirit alive. Time will tell.
The Report Card for Washington State University
- Four-Year/Six-Year Graduation Rates:C/C
- Freshman Retention: C
- Costs:B+
- Comforts: B+
- Community: B
- Curriculum: A
- Connections: A (Washington/Oregon/California)/ C (Elsewhere)
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