The average acceptance rate of the 17 Washington colleges that have competitive admission is 80.18% for the academic year 2024-2025. Compared to last year, the acceptance rate is lower by 0.63%. The acceptance rate at 7 Washington colleges increased and the rate of 10 colleges decreased.
Whitman College has the lowest (i.e. hard to admit) acceptance rate of 38.15%. University of Washington-Seattle Campus (39.15%) and University of Puget Sound (72.25%) are following it in the list of Tightest Washington Colleges to Get In.
This ranking is only based on acceptance rates and more admission stats such as SAT and ACT scores are helpful to measure the chances to get in more accurately.
Whitman College ranked 1st, up 1 place from 2nd last year. University of Washington-Seattle Campus ranked second, a drop from first place last year.
The average undergraduate tuition & fees of the schools is $48,307 and graduate tuition & fees is $28,410 for the academic year 2024-2025.
We note that the actual tightness of admission lies in considering other admission requirements such as SAT score.| School Name | Acceptance Rate | Yield | SAT Score | Undergraduate Tuition & Fees | Total Population | Graduation Rate | Students to Faculty Ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 1 | Whitman College Walla Walla, WAPrivate, 4-year | 38.15% 11.84% | 14.12% | 1,410 | $64,050 | 1,561 | 81.00% | 10 to 1 |
| 2 1 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WAPublic, 4-year | 39.15% 3.38% | 26.58% | - | $43,209 ($12,973) | 56,997 | 85.00% | 20 to 1 |
| 3 3 | University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WAPrivate, 4-year | 72.25% 4.03% | 11.36% | 1,280 | $62,898 | 1,864 | 68.00% | 10 to 1 |
| 4 1 | Seattle University Seattle, WAPrivate, 4-year | 76.92% 0.87% | 13.63% | 1,310 | $56,721 | 7,189 | 76.00% | 10 to 1 |
| 5 2 | Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, WAPrivate, 4-year | 78.02% 2.51% | 14.12% | 1,160 | $50,916 | 2,797 | 69.00% | 12 to 1 |
| 6 2 | Gonzaga University Spokane, WAPrivate, 4-year | 81.69% 5.73% | 17.48% | 1,290 | $55,480 | 7,470 | 86.00% | 12 to 1 |
| 7 1 | University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WAPublic, 4-year | 82.52% 0.43% | 21.48% | - | $43,404 ($13,168) | 4,965 | 63.00% | 15 to 1 |
| 8 3 | Northwest University Kirkland, WAPrivate, 4-year | 83.20% 4.85% | 30.77% | 1,150 | $36,035 | 1,053 | 71.00% | 9 to 1 |
| 9 4 | Seattle Pacific University Seattle, WAPrivate, 4-year | 83.40% 7.69% | 15.75% | - | $40,407 | 2,261 | 62.00% | 13 to 1 |
| 10 1 | Washington State University Pullman, WAPublic, 4-year | 86.64% 1.28% | 19.72% | - | $29,950 ($13,391) | 25,685 | 60.00% | 15 to 1 |
| Average | 72.19% | 18.50% | 1,267 | $48,307 ($13,177) | 11,184 | 72.10% | 13 to 1 |