More than half of all college freshmen are enrolled at a college within 100 miles of their permanent home. Only a small fraction venture further than 500 miles from home for college.

But knowing which colleges are in your region is important for several reasons. First, because of their location, these colleges provide you a good opportunity to visit the campus. Even if you move far away for college, seeing what is available nearby will help you decide which type of college fits you best. Also, colleges nearby may have state-funded merit aid programs that extend across state lines. So you may be able to pay in-state tuition for a college that is located across state lines.

These are the private colleges and universities in the West: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Tuition listed is for one full academic year, based on 2007 data.

Private Colleges in the Western States

College	City	State	Full-time undergrads	Tuition
Alaska Pacific University	Anchorage	AK	534	$21,010
Pepperdine University	Malibu	CA	3,284	$37,000
Pitzer College	Claremont	CA	877	$35,912
Scripps College	Claremont	CA	866	$35,850
University of Southern California	Los Angeles	CA	$17,854	$35,809
Mills College	Oakland	CA	845	$35,440
Occidental College	Los Angeles	CA	1,793	$35,373
Claremont McKenna College	Claremont	CA	1,148	$35,190
Stanford University	Stanford	CA	7,003	$35,089
Harvey Mudd College	Claremont	CA	736	$34,891
Pomona College	Claremont	CA	1,567	$33,932
Santa Clara University	Santa Clara	CA	5,717	$33,000
California Institute of Technology	Pasadena	CA	853	$32,835
Chapman University	Orange	CA	4,095	$32,608
University of San Diego	San Diego	CA	4,820	$32,564
Loyola Marymount University	Los Angeles	CA	5,784	$31,804
Westmont College	Santa Barbara	CA	1,324	$31,212
University of San Francisco	San Francisco	CA	5,387	$31,180
Saint Marys College of California	Moraga	CA	2,500	$31,080
University of Redlands	Redlands	CA	2,742	$30,626
Dominican University of California	San Rafael	CA	1,239	$30,570
Whittier College	Whittier	CA	1,059	$30,160
University of the Pacific	Stockton	CA	3,809	$28,980
California Lutheran University	Thousand Oaks	CA	1,801	$25,990
Woodbury University	Burbank	CA	1,241	$25,758
University of La Verne	La Verne	CA	3,340	$25,590
Mount St Mary’s College	Los Angeles	CA	1,615	$25,358
Azusa Pacific University	Azusa	CA	5,124	$25,130
Holy Names University	Oakland	CA	557	$25,060
Biola University	La Mirada	CA	3,779	$24,998
Notre Dame de Namur University	Belmont	CA	756	$24,650
Point Loma Nazarene University	San Diego	CA	2,387	$23,730
Vanguard University of Southern California	Costa Mesa	CA	1,769	$22,986
Concordia University	Irvine	CA	1,713	$22,380
The Master’s College and Seminary	Santa Clarita	CA	1,252	$22,140
La Sierra University	Riverside	CA	1,417	$21,846
Fresno Pacific University	Fresno	CA	1,442	$21,796
Pacific Union College	Angwin	CA	1,351	$21,435
American Jewish University	Los Angeles	CA	115	$21,300
California Baptist University	Riverside	CA	2,580	$20,636
Thomas Aquinas College	Santa Paula	CA	424	$20,400
Hope International University	Fullerton	CA	568	$19,900
San Diego Christian College	El Cajon	CA	520	$18,920
Simpson University	Redding	CA	773	$18,600
Bethany University	Scotts Valley	CA	445	$17,375
Cogswell Polytechnical College	Sunnyvale	CA	201	$16,548
New College of California	San Francisco	CA	424	$13,408
Pacific States University	Los Angeles	CA	93	$13,400
Golden Gate University-San Francisco	San Francisco	CA	383	$12,240
Patten University	Oakland	CA	559	$11,880
National University	La Jolla	CA	5,433	$9,720
Humphreys College-Stockton	Stockton	CA	946	$8,898
The National Hispanic University	San Jose	CA	290	$4,904
Colorado College	Springs	CO	2,036	$33,972
University of Denver	Denver	CO	5,184	$32,232
Regis University	Denver	CO	4,589	$26,800
Naropa University	Boulder	CO	426	$20,814
Colorado Christian University	Lakewood	CO	993	$19,000
Chaminade University of Honolulu	Honolulu	HI	1,294	$15,470
Hawaii Pacific University	Honolulu	HI	5,540	$13,080
Brigham Young University-Hawaii	Laie	HI	2,754	$3,250
Northwest Nazarene University	Nampa	ID	1,261	$19,970
The College of Idaho	Caldwell	ID	783	$17,680
Carroll College	Helena	MT	1,297	$19,620
Rocky Mountain College	Billings	MT	834	$17,774
University of Great Falls	Great Falls	MT	522	$16,492
Sierra Nevada College	Incline Village	NV	246	22005
Reed College	Portland	OR	1,263	$36,420
Willamette University	Salem	OR	1,894	$31,968
Lewis & Clark College	Portland	OR	2,145	$31,840
University of Portland	Portland	OR	3,084	$28,834
Pacific University	Forest Grove	OR	1,480	$26,470
Linfield College	McMinnville	OR	1,802	$25,644
George Fox University	Newberg	OR	1,801	$23,790
Warner Pacific College	Portland	OR	651	$21,500
Northwest Christian College	Eugene	OR	420	$21,480
Concordia University	Portland	OR	952	$21,200
Corban College	Salem	OR	918	$20,690
Marylhurst University	Marylhurst	OR	484	$15,570
Cascade College	Portland	OR	274	$13,520
Westminster College	Salt Lake City	UT	1,860	$22,374
Western Governors University	Salt Lake City	UT	5,860	$5,580
Brigham Young University	Provo	UT	30,474	$3,840
Whitman College	Walla Walla	WA	1,398	$32,980
University of Puget Sound	Tacoma	WA	2,450	$31,895
Gonzaga University	Spokane	WA	4,546	$26,658
Seattle University	Seattle	WA	4,095	$26,325
Whitworth University	Spokane	WA	2,200	$25,692
Seattle Pacific University	Seattle	WA	3,012	$25,128
Pacific Lutheran University	Tacoma	WA	3,378	$25,088
Saint Martin’s University	Lacey	WA	1,205	$22,450
Walla Walla University	College Place	WA	1,559	$21,114
Northwest University	Kirkland	WA	1,027	$19,762
City University of Seattle	Bellevue	WA	1,413	$11,800
Heritage University	Toppenish	WA	712	$9,055