A public R1 research university in Seattle, WA, admitting 39.15% of applicants with test-free admissions and exceptional access to technology employers.
Seattle, Washington
The University of Washington is a public R1 research university in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1861. It enrolls 31,942 undergraduates and 16,313 graduate students across sixteen schools and colleges, including the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering, the Foster School of Business, the College of Engineering, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of the Environment, the School of Nursing, and the Information School. Computer science, engineering, biological sciences, social sciences, and information science account for the largest shares of bachelor's degrees.
UW holds a Doctoral University: Very High Research Activity (R1) Carnegie classification and is accredited through the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). UW is test-free; the University of Washington eliminated SAT and ACT requirements, and scores are neither required nor considered in admissions. UW is designated an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI), reflecting its large Asian and Pacific Islander student population.
Official website: washington.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), UW scores 87.96 overall, rated Strong. Value scores 93.40, driven by ten-year earnings of $78,466 relative to an average net price of $14,091. Outcomes (93.68) reflects an 85.18% six-year graduation rate and an 87.53% rate of graduates earning above the high school median at ten years. Affordability scores 42.83. All scores use verified federal data only.
UW admits 39.15% of applicants. UW is test-free; SAT and ACT scores are neither required nor considered in admissions. UW uses its own application system (not Common App) with required short-answer essays. The application deadline for freshman admission is November 15. Applicants apply directly to a specific major; direct admission to the Allen School of CS and Engineering is highly competitive and much more selective than the overall university admit rate.
Students who are not directly admitted to CS can apply to other majors and then petition for CS admission in their sophomore year, though this is also competitive. UW is one of the most strategically important universities in the country for technology industry recruitment given its location in Seattle.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether University of Washington-Seattle Campus is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
For Washington state residents, UW charges $12,973 in tuition plus an estimated $18,405 in room and board, bringing the estimated total cost of attendance to approximately $32,446 before aid. For out-of-state students, tuition is $43,209, bringing the estimated total cost of attendance to approximately $62,000 before aid. The average net price across all enrolled students is $14,091. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $6,384.
For families earning between $30,001 and $48,000, the net price averages $7,039. For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the net price averages $14,328. For families earning above $110,000, it averages $30,019. UW's federal loan rate of 14.89% and median debt of $14,615 are among the lowest in this peer group, reflecting Washington state's relatively strong need-based aid programs and the university's cost structure.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $80 (one-time, due at submission)
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
UW completes the large majority of the students it enrolls. The six-year graduation rate is 85.18% for full-time, first-time bachelor's-seeking students. First-year retention stands at 94.82%. The federal loan rate of 14.89% and median debt of $14,615 are notably low for a flagship research university of this size, reflecting the favorable cost structure for Washington state residents and the university's aid approach.
UW graduates earn above the national median for public research universities. Median earnings are $62,979 six years after first enrolling and $78,466 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 87.53% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate. The earnings reflect UW's strength in CS, engineering, and biological sciences, and the direct pipeline into Seattle's technology industry.
Allen School CS and engineering graduates are heavily recruited by Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Boeing, and a large ecosystem of technology startups in the Seattle metro. UW Medicine, one of the largest academic medical centers in the Pacific Northwest, provides a major pipeline for nursing, pre-medicine, and health sciences graduates. Foster School of Business graduates go predominantly into technology, finance, and consulting, with strong Seattle-area placement.
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
UW enrolls 31,942 undergraduates on its main campus in Seattle, a major metropolitan area of approximately 4 million people and one of the leading technology hubs in the world. Asian students account for 27.42% of undergraduates; white 33.19%, Hispanic 10.32%, and Black 4.33%. Fourteen percent of undergraduates receive Pell grants, and 32.73% are first-generation college students, above average for a large selective public university.
Seattle is home to the global headquarters of Amazon and Microsoft's primary campus, as well as major operations for Boeing, Starbucks, Costco, and a rapidly growing cluster of technology and biotech companies. The close proximity of campus to the technology industry creates exceptional internship and employment pipelines for UW students.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at University of Washington-Seattle Campus. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
University of Washington-Seattle Campus offers an extensive catalog of programs: 267 distinct programs across 28 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
UW operates at a student-to-faculty ratio consistent with large research universities. 79.86% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $24,064 per year. The endowment stands at $5.34 billion. UW is consistently one of the top five recipients of federal research funding among all universities in the country, with major programs in global health, computer science, oceanography, and biomedical engineering.
The Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering, named after Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is consistently ranked among the top five CS programs at any public university. UW Medicine operates multiple hospitals and is a major NIH-funded research enterprise.
5,407 instructional faculty across 5 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
| Rank | Faculty Count | Share | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Professors | 1,722 | 32% | $164,162 |
| Associate Professors | 1,377 | 25% | $119,553 |
| Assistant Professors | 1,487 | 28% | $105,463 |
| Instructors | 294 | 5% | $63,598 |
| Lecturers | 527 | 10% | $72,172 |
UW's defining strengths are its 87.96 Strong UCD score, Seattle location (the most valuable tech-adjacent campus in the country), a $14,091 average net price, test-free admissions, a 14.89% federal loan rate (among the lowest in this peer group), and the Allen School's top-five CS ranking. UCD 87.96 Strong.
The trade-offs: direct admission to CS/Allen School is extremely competitive; the 85.18% six-year graduation rate is below several peer flagships; and room and board ($18,405) is high due to Seattle's cost of living. Best fit for Washington state residents targeting CS, engineering, informatics, or health sciences who want maximum proximity to technology industry employers at lower net cost than private alternatives, and strong candidates for the Allen School.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about UW Seattle: how CS admissions work, what the Allen School is, how living in Seattle affects the college experience, and what graduates earn.
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