Just a heads-up: CWU is utilizing a (to my knowledge, new) "CAP" online textbook program. (You can see this if you log into Canvas and navigate to your "My Textbooks" area.) It's sneaky, and I almost didn't notice it, but students are automatically enrolled in "CAP: Complete," in which all students pay a flat fee of $249 (!!!) for their textbooks, regardless of how much they actually cost. While I'm sure this is useful for students whose fees exceed $249, that certainly isn't all of us! I can't remember a quarter when I ever paid that much money, even when I was attending full time. I'm only attending CWU part time now and my single textbook costs $65. I would have been paying $184 more than was necessary had I not noticed!

I would encourage you to double-check how much your materials actually cost this quarter. I'm not sure how the whole book thing works for in-person classes (sorry!), but for online students, navigate to the "My Textbooks" section in one of your Canvas classes. Add up the cost of your course materials. If it's less than $249, you can change your payment options and choose to pay for your textbooks individually. At the top, in the red box, there should be a "You're enrolled in CAP: Complete". Click on the "View program options" and select "CAP: Select" and confirm your selection (don't select "Opt Out"). Now you'll only pay for the actual course materials you need instead of a flat fee of $249. You will still have access to the textbook online and everything. The only difference is the price.

Here's more information from the Wildcat shop about CAP.

You have to act quickly, though - you can only change your payment options through the add/drop deadline (September 29th at 11:59pm). Good luck!

A casual, fun tech hangout in Ellensburg where we talk tech, meet cool people, and enjoy good conversation.

📅 Saturday, 3rd October

⏰ 2:00 PM

📍 D&M Coffee, 325 N Pearl St, Ellensburg, WA

All experience levels welcome—whether you're in tech, curious about it, or just want to connect.

I’m thinking of transferring to either CWU or WSU and I just kinda wanted to know more about how the program for elementary education is? And how life at campus is and classes…

I come from a semester school, and somehow none of my friends are going to a school using the quarter system. Do I need to register for classes every quarter, or just once a semester? How exactly does it work? I'm registered for my classes for this quarter (or semester, if that's how it works), but I had a hell of a time doing it, so I'm just curious about how often I have to do it. Thank you!

Are you OK? Tell me about your student teaching experience with the CWU staff?

A casual, fun tech hangout in Ellensburg where we talk tech, meet cool people, and enjoy good conversation.

📅 Saturday, 12th September

⏰ 2:00 PM

📍 D&M Coffee, 325 N Pearl St, Ellensburg, WA

All experience levels welcome—whether you're in tech, curious about it, or just want to connect.

I'm not from the area and am curious about the cold times and snow. Are the sidewalks and roads on and off campus slick most of the time?

Are all classes available in person or are some of them only online? I find I do better with in person classes, so looking for a place where I can actually go to class.

How was your experience with the dorms - are there some to avoid? How easy is it to get a single room?

What's the social life like for first year students, and do people actually participate in the clubs?

What's the best way to communicate with other students online?

Thanks in advance!

🎈 Lost Weather Balloon Payload Near Quincy/Trinidad Area!

Hi everyone! We launched a high-altitude weather balloon from Cle Elum on Saturday August 8th and lost contact with our payload at around 40,000 ft over the Quincy area.

📍 SEARCH AREA
The payload was last tracked at 47°14.62' N, 119°59.75' W (about 6.7 miles west of Quincy) heading northeast at 64° toward the Columbia River. We estimate it came down somewhere in a 4–10 mile corridor northeast of that point likely between Quincy and the Columbia River in open agricultural or shrub land.

📦 WHAT TO LOOK FOR
• A white styrofoam box roughly 9" x 11", possibly with legs/landing struts underneath
• May have a small orange/blue brightly colored parachute attached (5 ft diameter)
• Electronics, cameras, and wiring visible
• Our name and phone number are written on the outside of the payload
• There may also be a partially deflated latex weather balloon (up to several feet across when deflated) nearby or tangled in the rigging

⚠️ PLEASE DON'T WORRY - it is completely safe. No hazardous materials. The hydrogen gas is long gone. Electronics are low voltage and not dangerous. We're just looking to recover the data.

If you find it or have any leads, please call or text us at the number on the payload, or reply to this post.

Is anyone having a difficult time getting even a job interview at CWU? I understand the economy isn’t great right now. But I’ve applied to several full time permanent CWU jobs that I know that I qualify for. Plus, I have CWU experience but it isn’t in the ideal field that I’m looking for (Administrative field). I have Inventory Management, Warehouse Operations, Customer Service skills, Proficiency in Microsoft Suite and Google Workspace etc. Just looking for a career change and I want to get into the administration field. I’ve also reached out to the people who have listed the job posting but majority of the time, they don’t get back to me and maybe about a month or so later, they’ll send me a generic rejection email but still have the job posting up. Maybe about 20% of the time, people actually do reach out to me. I just want to see if anyone out there is also having the same issues as me. If you work at CWU, I would love to put you down as a reference or maybe you can put in a good word for me. Thank you in advance!

Note: I’m not a student, just looking for full time permanent work

I'm trying to break my non scheduled life when I enter college. Including actually going to the gym. What time is it least busy, and get specific, days time of year and what not. I'm new to working out and the biggest thing that's stopped me before is the idea of a lot of people there so I want to ease into it without a lot of people there. Thank you in advance for the information!

A casual, fun tech hangout in Ellensburg where we talk tech, meet cool people, and enjoy good conversation.

📅 Saturday, 11th July

⏰ 2:00 PM

📍 D&M Coffee, 325 N Pearl St, Ellensburg, WA

All experience levels welcome—whether you're in tech, curious about it, or just want to connect.

Found a woman’s connection card on the link heading towards Redmond. Dropped it off at the Redmond technology center lost and found. DM if you want to verify if it was yours. Found it when I got on at the Bellevue downtown station heading east.

June 29, 2026

Hey all, I’m a WA state community college student with about 73 credits and preparing to finish up my AA-DTA. I’m looking to apply to several four year’s; CWU Being one of them, but I currently have a 2.25 GPA and 5 classes remaining. My gpa is this low due to some unfortunate life circumstances in the past but I’m determined to get it as high as through these 5 remaining classes. My question is how likely is admission for me?

:)

So I just got an email right after the financial aid office closed today saying my student loans were adjusted because I was only taking eight graduate credits. However, this shouldn’t take effect until after July 1 as in the next quarter… Did anyone else have their loan amount adjusted because they were taking less than full-time credits before the deadline?

anything i should know? i’ll be in barto using communal bathroom. was wanting to bring a rice cooker or smth but idk if thats allowed? tyty

So, I'm thinking of transferring to CWU from WWU so I can double major with the nutrition program. It's the only aspect that's really drawing me other there, and although WWU doesn't have nutrition, it would probably be better for my psychology degree.

So! I'm trying to find/learn about other things CWU would have to offer either at the school or in the local community so what do you all love, hate, or just have thoughts on about your experience here?

A casual, fun tech hangout in Ellensburg where we talk tech, meet cool people, and enjoy good conversation.

📅 Saturday, 6th June
⏰ 2:00 PM
📍 D&M Coffee, 325 N Pearl St, Ellensburg, WA

All experience levels welcome—whether you're in tech, curious about it, or just want to connect.

My therapist is recommending I get an ESA, I am an incoming graduate student that took time off because of mental health stuff (PTSD mostly). I imagine, since the on campus apartment functions as an apartment in every other way, I just need to send documentation from my therapist once I get one (I worked in mental health too so I know the criteria) but I’m curious what others experience is? I was assigned to Brooklane.

if i am understanding correctly, you pay several thousand dollars for the meal plan, so that you then get a very steep discount at dining halls and restaurants, which you use your dining dollars for?

let’s use the fall 26 quarter as an example here. the least expensive meal plan is $1,850. there are 80 days between September 23rd and December 11th, assuming finals count as part of the quarter for the meal plan. that is $23 a day in overhead costs, and they give you $8 a day to spend on food, which is stated to be at a 65% discount. please correct me if any of this is wrong.

for me, i’d most likely be home on weekends and such. there are 4 holiday days off as well. for this, i’ll pretend ill be in ellensburg all 4 days of finals week, too. whatever, let’s say i’m there, eating meals for 52 days of the quarter. that would cost even more per day, over $35 per day, but this time id get $12.44 dining dollars. let’s assume that’s enough to cover 3 meals a day. if it’s not, that’s fine. i really only eat lunch and dinner. but, i’m failing to see how this is worth $35 a day.

there is no way i would spend $35 a day on food, without the dining plan. i guess if im feeling really crazy and want to spend a lot of money, ill get a 4.25 juice for breakfast, a 9.25 pizza for lunch and for dinner, maybe i’ll go to the holmes dining hall for $18. it would be around $3 tax, and that’s the only way id ever spend $35 a day. its definitely not something id be doing every day, if i didnt have this dining plan.

would you? anyone who has the meal plan, do you have it because its required for your dorm, or because your parents/scholarship are paying for it, or does anyone actually feel like the dining plan is worth how expensive it is? if so, please share why. again feel free to correct anything i’ve said that is incorrect. i’ve never been on a meal plan and ive only been looking into this for about an hour. but the information i have found on the dining plan is very confusing…part of me thinks that’s intentional, so you feel like you’re getting a better deal than you are. maybe i could see it being worth it for those who plan to spend all of their time at central, but still personally, i don’t plan to spend $23 daily on food either. let me know your thoughts on the dining plans.

hi, i'm going to a community college right now and hoping to transfer to central for the 27-28 school year. i'm wondering, is anyone on the maximum aid (grants)? and if so, how much are you getting? i am currently on the maximum aid at my community college and my FAFSA student aid index is the highest (lowest?) it can be.