2026 Best Private Colleges in Washington

Name: 2026 Best Private Colleges in Washington (Kollegio college rankings)
Creator: Kollegio
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

20 Washington schools ranked in Kollegio's 2026 Best Private Colleges ranking, based on U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data.

Showing 1–20 of 20 colleges · How we rank colleges

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Cost of attendance after aid

ⓘ

$77,180

Institution type

2 Year4 Year5 Year

Field of study

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Campus Detail

Institution setting

AllCitySuburbanRural

Undergraduate enrollment

ⓘ

268763

Financial

Alumni starting salary

Tuition cost

ⓘ

$67,000

In-state tuition

ⓘ

Proportion of need based aid received

ⓘ

100%Clear Filter

International students received aid

ⓘ

100%

Average aid package

ⓘ

$82,308

Application fee

ⓘ

$150

Academics

Mean GPA

ⓘ

Mean SAT

ⓘ

1200

Mean ACT

ⓘ

#1 Best Private Colleges

Georgetown University

Washington

Acceptance rate

13.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$59,784

Avg. Cost after Aid

$23,000

#2 Best Private Colleges

George Washington University

Washington

Acceptance rate

47.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$57,894

Avg. Cost after Aid

$31,000

#3 Best Private Colleges

American University

Washington

Acceptance rate

47.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$50,542

Avg. Cost after Aid

$29,000

#4 Best Private Colleges

Gonzaga University

Spokane

Acceptance rate

76.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$47,560

Avg. Cost after Aid

$36,000

#5 Best Private Colleges

Whitman College

Walla Walla

Acceptance rate

50.0%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$55,560

Avg. Cost after Aid

$36,000

#6 Best Private Colleges

Howard University

Washington

Acceptance rate

34.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$28,450

Avg. Cost after Aid

$27,404

#7 Best Private Colleges

Seattle University

Seattle

Acceptance rate

76.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$48,510

Avg. Cost after Aid

$37,000

#8 Best Private Colleges

The Catholic University of America

Washington

Acceptance rate

83.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$51,040

Avg. Cost after Aid

$36,000

#9 Best Private Colleges

Walla Walla University

College Place

Acceptance rate

N/A

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$29,487

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#10 Best Private Colleges

Washington & Jefferson College

Washington

Acceptance rate

81.5%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$49,612

Avg. Cost after Aid

$27,000

#11 Best Private Colleges

University of Puget Sound

Tacoma

Acceptance rate

76.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$55,390

Avg. Cost after Aid

$28,000

#12 Best Private Colleges

Pacific Lutheran University

Tacoma

Acceptance rate

80.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$46,816

Avg. Cost after Aid

$24,000

#13 Best Private Colleges

Whitworth University

Spokane

Acceptance rate

86.8%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$46,350

Avg. Cost after Aid

$27,000

#14 Best Private Colleges

Saint Martin's University

Lacey

Acceptance rate

75.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$40,210

Avg. Cost after Aid

$24,000

#15 Best Private Colleges

Seattle Pacific University

Seattle

Acceptance rate

91.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$35,100

Avg. Cost after Aid

$26,000

#16 Best Private Colleges

Northwest University

Kirkland

Acceptance rate

88.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$33,500

Avg. Cost after Aid

$23,000

#17 Best Private Colleges

Gallaudet University

Washington

Acceptance rate

60.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$16,512

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#18 Best Private Colleges

City University of Seattle

Seattle

Acceptance rate

100.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$13,658

Avg. Cost after Aid

$35,049

#19 Best Private Colleges

Trinity Washington University

Washington

Acceptance rate

99.2%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$24,860

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,000

#20 Best Private Colleges

Heritage University

Toppenish

Acceptance rate

77.0%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$18,360

Avg. Cost after Aid

$8,000

2026 Best Private Colleges in Washington

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