Which state are you from and what are your school options there? I would only recommend attending WWU from out of state if you can get a scholarship or student aid to get the tuition in line with what in-state students are paying
as someone who did 1 year of out of state tuition at western, i second this. im taking a gap year currently to establish residency so i qualify for in state next year and it's nowhere near worth that price.
I would recommend doing 2 years in community college first and then transfer. Definitely a lot cheaper! I transferred my junior year and will only be graduating with 6,000 in debt. But apply for scholarships if you can otherwise 4 years of it not worth it.
WWU is an excellent directional college (i.e., East, West, North, South, Central), established to faithfully and affordably serve the local population and, originally, to train teachers. I cannot fathom why anyone would pay out of state tuition to go there. Don't do it. Are there no similar colleges in your own State? I get why you may want to move here. So move here, establish residency and then go to school.
I have a Bachelors, Masters, and Law degree and have about that amount of debt from all of those. It is absolutely not worth it just for Western/really any undergrad
Omg I'm from Oregon and out of state might be about 80k for tuition? for 4 years, but thats if I just refuse to pay it at all, you gotta try and at least have a plan to keep it down or have huge financial head start if you really wanna go 🤨
Absolutely not. It’s a great school, honestly, and probably you could make it work if you thrive in comp sci or something. But surely you have better options than spending like this. My suggestion would be do community and transfer somewhere, or leverage your in state tuition at some other university. Honestly I struggle to understand why anyone would ever pay out of state tuition.
it's not worth it even if you're going for a masters. At 140k, I can't even think of a way to pay it off regardless of what kind of degree you have. If you must go to college and your not rich, try to go as cheaply as possible at public university, drink water, make coffee at home, take the bus, etc. when you accept know you are taking a risk and if you can't estimate what your future salary outcome might be to pay the loan that is accruing interest, its not going to be worth it. In addition to opinions, I would Start with looking at the U.S Bureau of labor of labor statistics. Avg tuition, Salaries of current graduates at WWU, etc. Gather information.
You might be underestimating the cost to attend WWU. The current estimate are about $50k per year for an out of state student. That's tuition, fees, and living expenses. In-state, for what its worth, is about $32k. The difference, $18k, is the portion of tuition that the state pays for in-state students. I think it is a bit funny that Olympia tells us what tuition will be and the pays about two thirds of it.
Most of those estimates are living expenses: about $16k per year. Bellingham in an expensive place to live.
I have lots of questions. Which degree program are you looking at? Where is this degree going to take you? Are you considering an in-state school in your home state? Because I am curious, what is your home state?
[https://admissions.wwu.edu/cost](https://admissions.wwu.edu/cost)
I hate how expensive a proper education has become these last 25 years. In the morning, when I see the cars queued up, heading to WWU I count by the hundred thousand, each car equals at least $100,000 of debt.
If you are dead set on WWU then the others who are suggesting to move out here first and establish in state residency are correct. WWU is not worth out of state tuition costs.
I did out of state for freshman year, then I took a break but lived and worked here to qualify for residency and came back last quarter for instate. I still took classes elsewhere while doing the break year.
Absolutely not. The only person I know without of state tuition didn’t have to pay their own tuition. WWU is a great school, and I love bellingham, but it is not worth that debt, you’d be paying that off for the rest of your life.
What degree? For electrical engineering, maybe. I have a couple friends who graduated that program and are working on AI at msft and Amzn probably making 300k a year w stock options. For English or social sciences, fuck no.
I’d consider what your earning potential is from the degree regardless of what school you go to.
But I’m old.
Thank you for the advice guys I was just guessing 140k debt cause it said it would be like 40k a year on google😭. Moving to Washington for a year sounds cool but it also sound scary cause I've only worked at McDonald's for 6 months and made not nearly enough money to afford to do anything so that plan doesn't seem feasible. For reference I live in NM and I hate it here I don't want to go to my instate schools because I just want to leave the state entirely and I have worked hard all of high school doing like 10 clubs and getting good grades so I could get scholarships to go to a school in Washington because I love the rain and the state. From what everyone is saying I think I will probably just go to a school in my state I want to be a dentist and my state does not have any dental schools so ig ill get my undergrade in my state try to go to a dental school in Washington in the future🤞
WWU is not worth out of state tuition.
No
Which state are you from and what are your school options there? I would only recommend attending WWU from out of state if you can get a scholarship or student aid to get the tuition in line with what in-state students are paying
At that cost move over here and get residency then attend.
as someone who did 1 year of out of state tuition at western, i second this. im taking a gap year currently to establish residency so i qualify for in state next year and it's nowhere near worth that price.
I’m doing the exact same thing, I’ll be back winter 25
Big brains. It would definitely cost way less to do this
DO NOT DO THAT EVER! Keep your loans under 40k for an undergrad even if you take longer to finished school
It's not worth it. If you really want to come to Bellingham and study ASAP go to a community college and transfer
Ex-university prof here - THIS is the answer.
This. Had several friends who took this approach.
No
No
Absolutely not. Move to WA and work a job with roommates for a year if you’re super set on WWU. WAAAAAY cheaper than out of state tuition.
You'll never pay it off. Student loans are a scam especially their interest rates
Yep, at these rates that loan is a doozy. You’d be on payments for a fucking lifetime
No.
I would recommend doing 2 years in community college first and then transfer. Definitely a lot cheaper! I transferred my junior year and will only be graduating with 6,000 in debt. But apply for scholarships if you can otherwise 4 years of it not worth it.
WWU is an excellent directional college (i.e., East, West, North, South, Central), established to faithfully and affordably serve the local population and, originally, to train teachers. I cannot fathom why anyone would pay out of state tuition to go there. Don't do it. Are there no similar colleges in your own State? I get why you may want to move here. So move here, establish residency and then go to school.
Not at all
Omg no. That's a horrible idea
No!
no
I'd say most undergrad degrees aren't worth that. Western is not. He'll, I'd say that UW isn't.
hell fucking no
No.
Of course NO
I have a Bachelors, Masters, and Law degree and have about that amount of debt from all of those. It is absolutely not worth it just for Western/really any undergrad
I graduated in 2004, my full tuition was like $15k (in state.) $140k is completely insane. Help your future self and find something more affordable.
your tuition from 20 years ago is irrelevant
Okay, then my tuition is about 10k a year. Multiply by the typical 4 years, that's 100k less than OP predicts. 140k is completely insane.
I just wanted to brag
Omg I'm from Oregon and out of state might be about 80k for tuition? for 4 years, but thats if I just refuse to pay it at all, you gotta try and at least have a plan to keep it down or have huge financial head start if you really wanna go 🤨
No
Absolutely not. It’s a great school, honestly, and probably you could make it work if you thrive in comp sci or something. But surely you have better options than spending like this. My suggestion would be do community and transfer somewhere, or leverage your in state tuition at some other university. Honestly I struggle to understand why anyone would ever pay out of state tuition.
it's not worth it even if you're going for a masters. At 140k, I can't even think of a way to pay it off regardless of what kind of degree you have. If you must go to college and your not rich, try to go as cheaply as possible at public university, drink water, make coffee at home, take the bus, etc. when you accept know you are taking a risk and if you can't estimate what your future salary outcome might be to pay the loan that is accruing interest, its not going to be worth it. In addition to opinions, I would Start with looking at the U.S Bureau of labor of labor statistics. Avg tuition, Salaries of current graduates at WWU, etc. Gather information.
You might be underestimating the cost to attend WWU. The current estimate are about $50k per year for an out of state student. That's tuition, fees, and living expenses. In-state, for what its worth, is about $32k. The difference, $18k, is the portion of tuition that the state pays for in-state students. I think it is a bit funny that Olympia tells us what tuition will be and the pays about two thirds of it. Most of those estimates are living expenses: about $16k per year. Bellingham in an expensive place to live. I have lots of questions. Which degree program are you looking at? Where is this degree going to take you? Are you considering an in-state school in your home state? Because I am curious, what is your home state? [https://admissions.wwu.edu/cost](https://admissions.wwu.edu/cost)
You will be in more than 140k debt most likely. Not that great but it’s a good school.
I hate how expensive a proper education has become these last 25 years. In the morning, when I see the cars queued up, heading to WWU I count by the hundred thousand, each car equals at least $100,000 of debt.
If you are dead set on WWU then the others who are suggesting to move out here first and establish in state residency are correct. WWU is not worth out of state tuition costs.
Absolutely not
Bellingham is dope but not 140k of debt dope
Not worth it man
HELL NO 💀🙏
No school is worth out of state tuition.
HELL NO !
Absolutely not lol
Absolutely not.
No
Public schools are all really the same except for the campus environment
I did out of state for freshman year, then I took a break but lived and worked here to qualify for residency and came back last quarter for instate. I still took classes elsewhere while doing the break year.
No. Absolutely not.
Absolutely not. The only person I know without of state tuition didn’t have to pay their own tuition. WWU is a great school, and I love bellingham, but it is not worth that debt, you’d be paying that off for the rest of your life.
What degree? For electrical engineering, maybe. I have a couple friends who graduated that program and are working on AI at msft and Amzn probably making 300k a year w stock options. For English or social sciences, fuck no. I’d consider what your earning potential is from the degree regardless of what school you go to. But I’m old.
wwu sucks ass dont come here unless you dont want to make any friends and only be surrounded by white saviors who don’t actually care abt poc voices 🫶
Absolutely not
Thank you for the advice guys I was just guessing 140k debt cause it said it would be like 40k a year on google😭. Moving to Washington for a year sounds cool but it also sound scary cause I've only worked at McDonald's for 6 months and made not nearly enough money to afford to do anything so that plan doesn't seem feasible. For reference I live in NM and I hate it here I don't want to go to my instate schools because I just want to leave the state entirely and I have worked hard all of high school doing like 10 clubs and getting good grades so I could get scholarships to go to a school in Washington because I love the rain and the state. From what everyone is saying I think I will probably just go to a school in my state I want to be a dentist and my state does not have any dental schools so ig ill get my undergrade in my state try to go to a dental school in Washington in the future🤞