Top Rated Pacific Northwest Private Colleges
These are the top ranked private four-year colleges in the Pacific Northwest. Leading the rankings for 2027 as the highest ranked private college in the Pacific Northwest is Reed College. Learn how the Best Colleges rankings are calculated on our ranking methodology page.
Reed College
- Private 4 Year
- Portland, OR
-
| 0 reviews
Reed is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate sciences and humanities. All seniors complete a required year-long thesis on a wooded residential campus in southeast Portland.
- SAT Range 1290-1520
- Avg GPA 4.0
- Acceptance Rate 25%
- Net Price $30,953
Whitman College
- Private 4 Year
- Walla Walla, WA
-
3.4 | 5 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Whitman is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate biology, chemistry, and environmental studies. The residential campus sits in the small college town of Walla Walla.
- SAT Range 1310-1480
- Avg GPA 3.68
- Acceptance Rate 38%
- Net Price $37,633
Seattle University
- Private 4 Year
- Seattle, WA
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5.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Seattle University is a private Jesuit university known for undergraduate nursing and business. The urban campus sits on First Hill near downtown Seattle.
- SAT Range 1200-1430
- Avg GPA 3.62
- Acceptance Rate 77%
- Net Price $36,948
University of Portland
- Private 4 Year
- Portland, OR
-
| 0 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
University of Portland is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate nursing, engineering, and business. The campus sits on a bluff overlooking the Willamette River in North Portland.
- SAT Range 1160-1370
- Avg GPA 3.66
- Acceptance Rate 89%
- Net Price $30,985
Gonzaga University
- Private 4 Year
- Spokane, WA
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5.0 | 1 reviews
- Feb 1 application deadline
Gonzaga is a private Jesuit university known for undergraduate business, nursing, and engineering. The campus runs along the Spokane River in eastern Washington.
- SAT Range 1190-1380
- Avg GPA 3.67
- Acceptance Rate 82%
- Net Price $40,117
University of Puget Sound
- Private 4 Year
- Tacoma, WA
-
4.0 | 5 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Puget Sound is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate music and the natural sciences. Most students live on the residential campus in Tacoma near Commencement Bay.
- SAT Range 1170-1380
- Avg GPA 3.56
- Acceptance Rate 72%
- Net Price $43,188
Lewis & Clark College
- Private 4 Year
- Portland, OR
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Lewis & Clark is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate international affairs and environmental studies. The wooded campus sits in the hills of southwest Portland.
- SAT Range 1210-1390
- Avg GPA 3.95
- Acceptance Rate 78%
- Net Price $37,999
Linfield University
- Private 4 Year
- McMinnville, OR
-
| 0 reviews
- Feb 1 application deadline
Linfield is a private university known for undergraduate nursing and wine studies. The residential campus sits in the small college town of McMinnville in Oregon's Willamette Valley.
- SAT Range 1050-1210
- Avg GPA 3.71
- Acceptance Rate 85%
- Net Price $29,936
Willamette University
- Private 4 Year
- Salem, OR
-
4.8 | 4 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Willamette is a private liberal arts university known for undergraduate political science and government. The historic campus borders the Oregon State Capitol grounds in downtown Salem.
- SAT Range 1240-1440
- Avg GPA 3.97
- Acceptance Rate 77%
- Net Price $29,421
Northwest University
- Private 4 Year
- Kirkland, WA
-
| 0 reviews
- Aug 1 application deadline
Northwest University is a private Christian university known for undergraduate nursing, ministry, and business. The suburban campus sits in Kirkland east of Seattle.
- SAT Range 1040-1350
- Avg GPA 3.41
- Acceptance Rate 83%
- Net Price $24,251
Seattle Pacific University
- Private 4 Year
- Seattle, WA
-
| 0 reviews
- Jul 11 application deadline
Seattle Pacific is a private Christian university known for undergraduate nursing and education. The urban campus sits in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1050-1320
- Avg GPA 3.53
- Acceptance Rate 83%
- Net Price $25,232
Whitworth University
- Private 4 Year
- Spokane, WA
-
| 0 reviews
- Mar 1 application deadline
Whitworth is a private Presbyterian university known for undergraduate education, business, and the sciences. The wooded residential campus sits in north Spokane.
- SAT Range 1090-1330
- Avg GPA 3.72
- Acceptance Rate 90%
- Net Price $27,605
The College of Idaho
- Private 4 Year
- Caldwell, ID
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Feb 15 application deadline
The College of Idaho is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate sciences and a PEAK curriculum that pairs a major with three minors. The residential campus sits in the small city of Caldwell west of Boise.
- SAT Range 1070-1280
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 49%
- Net Price $21,686
Pacific Lutheran University
- Private 4 Year
- Tacoma, WA
-
3.3 | 3 reviews
- Aug 15 application deadline
Pacific Lutheran is a private university known for undergraduate nursing, music, and education. Most students live on the residential campus in suburban Tacoma with a Lutheran church affiliation.
- SAT Range 1040-1260
- Avg GPA 3.71
- Acceptance Rate 78%
- Net Price $22,299
George Fox University
- Private 4 Year
- Newberg, OR
-
| 0 reviews
George Fox is a private Christian university known for undergraduate nursing, business, and engineering. The residential campus sits in the Willamette Valley town of Newberg near Portland.
- SAT Range 1070-1340
- Avg GPA 3.7
- Acceptance Rate 94%
- Net Price $32,171
Pacific University
- Private 4 Year
- Forest Grove, OR
-
| 0 reviews
- Aug 25 application deadline
Pacific is a private university known for undergraduate health sciences, education, and psychology. The residential campus is in the small college town of Forest Grove west of Portland.
- SAT Range 900-1240
- Avg GPA 3.73
- Acceptance Rate 90%
- Net Price $35,235
Saint Martin's University
- Private 4 Year
- Lacey, WA
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4.0 | 1 reviews
- Jul 31 application deadline
Saint Martin's is a private Benedictine university known for undergraduate engineering, education, and business. The suburban campus sits in Lacey near Washington's state capital of Olympia.
- SAT Range 1025-1230
- Avg GPA 3.46
- Acceptance Rate 90%
- Net Price $29,116
Northwest Nazarene University
- Private 4 Year
- Nampa, ID
-
| 0 reviews
- Aug 15 application deadline
Northwest Nazarene is a private Christian university known for undergraduate education, nursing, and theology. The suburban campus is in Nampa, in Idaho's Treasure Valley near Boise.
- SAT Range 1005-1240
- Avg GPA 3.59
- Acceptance Rate 65%
- Net Price $30,178