The Most Selective Colleges in Washington
Every eligible Washington four-year that reports an admission rate, ranked hardest to get into first and easiest last — not a prestige Top 25. Selectivity here is the published rate, not a magazine composite.
Ranked by acceptance rate · 16 of 58 Washington institutions in this universe qualify for this ranking · Compiled 2026-09-01
- 1University of Washington-Seattle CampusSeattle, WA · Public42.5%Compare nearby
- 2Whitman CollegeWalla Walla, WA · Private50.0%Compare nearby
- 3DigiPen Institute of TechnologyRedmond, WA · For-profit68.0%Compare nearby
- 4Saint Martin's UniversityLacey, WA · Private75.9%Compare nearby
- 5Gonzaga UniversitySpokane, WA · Private76.0%Compare nearby
- 6Seattle UniversitySeattle, WA · Private76.0%Compare nearby
- 7University of Puget SoundTacoma, WA · Private76.3%Compare nearby
- 8Pacific Lutheran UniversityTacoma, WA · Private80.5%Compare nearby
- 9Washington State UniversityPullman, WA · Public85.4%Compare nearby
- 10Whitworth UniversitySpokane, WA · Private86.8%Compare nearby
- 11Northwest UniversityKirkland, WA · Private88.0%Compare nearby
- 12Central Washington UniversityEllensburg, WA · Public90.2%Compare nearby
- 13Seattle Pacific UniversitySeattle, WA · Private91.1%Compare nearby
- 14Western Washington UniversityBellingham, WA · Public91.3%Compare nearby
- 15Eastern Washington UniversityCheney, WA · Public91.8%Compare nearby
- 16The Evergreen State CollegeOlympia, WA · Public97.2%Compare nearby
How this list was built
- Measure
- Acceptance rate — sorted lowest to highest
- Source variable
ADM_RATE- Dataset
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most-Recent-Cohorts-Institution (05-19-2025 release)
- Washington institutions in this universe (58 schools).
- Washington four-year main campuses only. Rank order is published admission rate; on an exact tie, higher SAT average ranks above, and missing SAT does not drop a school. SAT is not shown because it is not the ranked measure. Schools without a published ADM_RATE are omitted rather than estimated.
- Institutions enrolling fewer than 500 undergraduates are excluded — the same size floor as the national selectivity list — even when they report an admission rate. That cut is not a median-stability adjustment.
- 16 of 58 Washington institutions in this universe qualify for this ranking (report the measure and pass any enrollment floor); the rest are omitted rather than estimated.
A single measure is a narrow way to judge a college. Read this alongside the others, and see the methodology for what these figures do and do not capture.
Keep exploring
- Re-rank with your weightsRe-score with your weights, pre-filtered to WA
- Showdown: University of Washington-Seattle Campus vs Whitman CollegeHigher-or-lower on Scorecard metrics — round 1 is these two
- Live leaderboardReshuffle Top 10–50 on one Scorecard measure
- Explore games & mapsShowdown, Name That College, sports, and more lists
- Sports at University of Washington-Seattle CampusEADA programs for the #1 school on this list
Keep going
The Most Selective Colleges in America
Lowest share of applicants admitted. Selectivity measures demand and class size, not teaching quality.
Colleges with the Highest SAT Averages
Average SAT score of enrolled students. Reported by fewer than half of institutions as test-optional admissions has spread.
Colleges That Admit Nearly Everyone
Open and near-open admission four-year institutions, ranked by the share of applicants accepted.