Here at PrimeRates.com, we will continue our regional analysis of schools and school costs using the Camry College Cost Comparison. This article will focus on Western Universities, which are schools located in or West of the Rocky Mountains. This encompasses universities located in 12 states: Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawaii. Here, there is a mix of excellent public universities and private universities. However, the best value in the West, as always, lies with public institutions as many of the public schools listed are among the finest in the country.
The Western Universities that were selected for comparison here are among the best schools in the country academically. Furthermore, the quality that is offered at in-state prices certainly ranks among the best bargains in the country in terms of higher education. Regarding the venrable UC system, only two schools were selected for comparison, also several of the schools in the system that aren’t mentioned here certain are among the best schools in the country. In terms of Private institutions, there was a small selection of relatively small, private liberal arts colleges which were primarily located in California. There are a few larger schools, such as Stanford and USC, but there were few very notable large private universities in the West.
Looking at public western universities, the best value is probably offered by the University of Wyoming, which ranks both as an excellent public institution and the cheapest option for both in-state and out-of-state students. In fact, the out-of-state costs for the University of Wyoming is less than the in-state costs for UC Berkeley and UCLA, the two most prominent universities of the UC system. Of course, the two UC schools certainly have a national and international reputation that few public schools in the country can match. The most interesting schools listed here is probably Brigham Young University. Although BYU is a private universities, due to its fee structure and size, it operates and acts more like a large state universities as opposed to a typical private institution. The most notable thing about BYU is that it certainly offers the best value among private universities in the entire country and, for LDS (Later Day Saints or Mormon) members, it may offer the best value of any institution in the nation before taxes.
Considering the private western universities, many of the schools cost in the high $50,000 range, which is equivalent to what it would cost to buy 2.5 new Camrys. Considering this, like many other excellent private schools across the nation, the vast majority of the schools listed here offer excellent financial aid to help defer the costs of attending. Out of all the private schools listed here, the University of Denver and Whitman university probably offer the best values. However, Forbes magazine did recently name Stanford University and Pomona College as the two best universities in the country, so that might change some calculus about value. Despite that, it is really difficult the value that attending one school over another truly adds, but the private schools that were selected are among the best in the country and certainly among the best universities in the region.
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