Best Colleges in Washington

Why Should I Consider Studying in Washington?

Washington is a quietly powerful state. Tucked into the docile Pacific Northwest, it is easy to forget that two of the wealthiest companies in the world, Amazon and Microsoft, call the ‘’Evergreen State’’ home. Business aside, Washington is one of the most beautiful states in the nation. The state has seemingly endless forests and breathtaking mountains including Mount St. Helens which erupted spectacularly in 1980 and can now be hiked by adventurous visitors.

Seattle, birthplace of Starbucks, is home to a multitude of colleges including University of Puget Sound, Seattle Pacific University, and University of Washington. University of Washington is one of the premier public universities in the United States, Seattle Pacific University provides students a more individualized experience with many programs and a small student population, and University of Puget Sound offers an innovative approach to majors.

On the opposite side of the state from Seattle is Washington State University. WSU is notoriously one of the most rural large-schools in the country. Washington State University is near our top ranking for majors like Agronomy and Crop Science while providing a living experience very different from that of Seattle.

Washington Higher Education By The Numbers

Colleges in Washington

Washington has the 20th most colleges in the USA with 94 colleges. For perspective, that is 11 more colleges than your standard state. 46% of colleges in Washington are public, and 54% of its colleges are private. (43 public colleges & 51 private colleges). It has the 14th highest public to private college ratio in the USA.

Our favorite colleges in Washington are University of Washington-Seattle Campus, Whitman College, and Gonzaga University. University of Washington-Seattle Campus has the most students of any public college in the top 25 colleges (56,554). Gonzaga University has more students than any other private colleges in our top 25 (8,397).

Students in Washington

The most popular state has 3,747,479 college students. Washington has 87% fewer. There are 424,527 public college students and 59,953 private college students in Washington. It has fewer public college students than 12 states and fewer private college students than 30 states. Its 484,480 total students make it the 19th most popular destination in the United States. 12% of Washington's students are at private schools which is the 9th lowest percentage across the country.