Washington Private Colleges Ranked by Highest Acceptance Rate

Below is a ranking of the 17 private colleges in Washington with the highest acceptance rate for freshman undergraduate applications. City University of Seattle leads the list by accepting 100% of high school students that applied.

Acceptance rate is a measure of the competitiveness of a school. Lower acceptance rates are more competitive and may require a higher GPA, SAT/ACT score, and other factors to be considered for admission.

List of Washington Private Colleges Ranked by Highest Acceptance Rate
College	Acceptance Rate
City University of Seattle Seattle, Washington	100%
Heritage University Toppenish, Washington	100%
Bastyr University Kenmore, Washington	100%
Walla Walla University College Place, Washington	100%
Antioch University Seattle Seattle, Washington	100%
Faith International University Tacoma, Washington	100%
Great Northern University Spokane, Washington	100%
Saint Martin's University Lacey, Washington	90%
Whitworth University Spokane, Washington	90%
Northwest University Kirkland, Washington	83%
Seattle Pacific University Seattle, Washington	83%
Gonzaga University Spokane, Washington	82%
Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, Washington	78%
Seattle University Seattle, Washington	77%
University of Puget Sound Tacoma, Washington	72%
Cornish College of the Arts Seattle, Washington	62%
Whitman College Walla Walla, Washington	38%

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This list is updated annually based on the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Last updated: March 15, 2026

Data source: IPEDS 2025 survey for academic year 2024/2025 - National Center for Education Statistics.