Selecting a College

Take an honest self-assessment of…

• your academic profile (classes taken, grades, test scores)
• your family’s financial situation (what’s affordable)
• other characteristics you bring to the college-search process (for example, your interests and goals, athletics, special talents, volunteer experience, other extra-curricular activities)

The second step is to develop a list of criteria for colleges you might be interested in learning more about. Think about…  location size of school size and variety of classes residential life selectivity (how many applicants are admitted) retention rate (how many first-year students continue for a second year) graduation rate (how many entering freshmen graduate 4, 5, or 6 years later) majors you might be interested in pursuing

The third step is to gather further information about colleges that sound interesting to you. You can use catalogs that the colleges publish, their websites, college guide books—these sources will give you basic information from different viewpoints. Campuses are always eager to provide you with  information,  and admissions staff  appreciate letters or emails asking for more information.

Your best strategy, if possible, is to visit the campuses in which you are interested, take a campus tour, and ask a lot of questions while you’re there.

• Students who are residents of WUE states are eligible to request a reduced tuition rate of 150% of resident tuition at participating two- and four-year college programs outside of their home state.
   
• The WUE reduced tuition rate is not automatically awarded to all eligible candidates. Many institutions limit the number of new WUE awards each academic year, so apply early!
   
• WUE members include: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Popular out-of-state universities who DO NOT participate in WUE: University of Oregon, University of Washington, Colorado University - Boulder.  They all have scholarships available for out-of-state students, but they are academically competitive so apply early.

WUE Schools that I love! Remember that once you leave California it will be hard to find the same level of diversity on all of these campuses.  

• Colorado State University
• Boise State University
• Montana State University 
• Northern Arizona University
• Oregon State University
• Portland State University
• Southern Oregon University
• University of Alaska - Fairbanks
• University of Hawaii - Manoa
• University of Montana
• University of Nevada - Las Vegas
• University of Nevada - Reno
• University of New Mexico
• University of Utah
• Washington State University
• Western Washington University

• HBCUconnect.com - Allows you to browse the 100+ Historically Black Colleges and Universities, sorted by state, size, tuition, conference, and ranking.  
• 2021 Best HBCU Schools in America list by Niche
• Stepping in the Right Direction HBCU Tours
• Still We Rise - The Continuing Case for America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities
• Spotlight on Xavier University 
• Spotlight on Paul Quinn University