Best Small Colleges in Washington 2024

Published: May 5, 2021
Updated: Oct 26, 2023

Small colleges in Washington are a great option for students interested in a more intimate campus experience, more personal attention from excellent professors, and more immediate access to support services. Whether the focus is on the technical or on the liberal arts, small colleges give you the chance to pursue a well-rounded education while working closely with classmates and professors in a dynamic community atmosphere.

10 Best Small Colleges in Washington 2024

Evergreen State College
Whitman College
University of Puget Sound
Seattle Pacific University
Pacific Lutheran University
Walla Walla University
Whitworth University
City University of Seattle
DigiPen Institute of Technology
Saint Martin's University

Evergreen State College 99%
Northwest University 96%
Seattle Pacific University 92%
Whitworth University 91%
University of Puget Sound 88%
Pacific Lutheran University 88%
Saint Martin's University 72%
Whitman College 59%
DigiPen Institute of Technology 46%

Yakima Valley College 19 to 1
Clover Park Technical College 17 to 1
North Seattle College 17 to 1
South Seattle College 17 to 1
Bellingham Technical College 16 to 1
Evergreen State College 16 to 1
Walla Walla University 15 to 1
Spokane Falls Community College 15 to 1
Grays Harbor College 14 to 1
Centralia College 14 to 1

Whitman College $55,982
University of Puget Sound $55,670
Pacific Lutheran University $48,226
Whitworth University $47,590
Saint Martin's University $40,690
Seattle Pacific University $35,646
DigiPen Institute of Technology $34,900
Northwest University $33,980
Walla Walla University $30,531
Antioch University Seattle $21,600

University of Puget Sound $36,047
DigiPen Institute of Technology $29,100
Pacific Lutheran University $29,084
Seattle Pacific University $24,273
Walla Walla University $24,048
Northwest University $18,829
Antioch University Seattle $18,024
Saint Martin's University $15,840
Whitworth University $12,456
City University of Seattle $11,812

Renton Technical College
Bellingham Technical College
Grays Harbor College
Whatcom Community College
Yakima Valley College
Lake Washington Institute of Technology
Clover Park Technical College
South Seattle College
Centralia College
Skagit Valley College

DigiPen Institute of Technology 46%
Whitman College 59%
Saint Martin's University 72%
Pacific Lutheran University 88%
University of Puget Sound 88%
Whitworth University 91%
Seattle Pacific University 92%
Northwest University 96%
Evergreen State College 99%

Antioch University Seattle 3 to 1
City University of Seattle 6 to 1
Heritage University 6 to 1
Whitman College 8 to 1
Renton Technical College 9 to 1
University of Puget Sound 9 to 1
DigiPen Institute of Technology 10 to 1
Northwest University 10 to 1
Whitworth University 11 to 1
Pacific Lutheran University 12 to 1

Bellingham Technical College $2,832
Spokane Falls Community College $3,029
Lake Washington Institute of Technology $3,029
Wenatchee Valley College $3,768
Renton Technical College $3,781
Grays Harbor College $3,826
Peninsula College $3,826
Skagit Valley College $3,826
Centralia College $4,343
Yakima Valley College $4,343

Evergreen State College $9,329
Heritage University $9,732
City University of Seattle $11,812
Whitworth University $12,456
Saint Martin's University $15,840
Antioch University Seattle $18,024
Northwest University $18,829
Walla Walla University $24,048
Seattle Pacific University $24,273
Pacific Lutheran University $29,084

Table of Contents

Colleges and Universities in Washington

Of the 40 public options, the University of Washington in Seattle is the largest. Roughly 40,000 students attend classes in fields like nursing, education, biology, and computer science. This public research institution is also affordable, charging about $11,000 for tuition. In fact, none of the public schools in Washington exceed $12,000 in price. This includes community colleges, technical colleges, and four-year universities, making Washington a uniquely affordable place to earn your associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree.

Find college admissions consultants in your state.

Washington also has 24 private institutions. Of those, nine are religious. The most widely known of these, Catholic university Gonzaga enrolls roughly 7,000 students, at a cost of $40,000, in areas such as religious studies, engineering, and law. Central Washington University (CWU) is a smaller public school, serving just over 12,000 students, and has a tuition of $8,000. With 15% of its population being Hispanic, CWU is now recognized as an emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution. Washington health professions also have the opportunity to receive funding for loan repayment through Washington’s Health Professional Loan Repayment Program.

Set in the Pacific Northwest, Washington offers ocean beaches and lush forests. In fact, over half the state is covered in forests, earning Washington its nickname as The Evergreen State. Viewers atop the Space Needle in Seattle can take in the sights of Puget Sound, Mount Rainier, and both the Cascades and Olympic mountain ranges. In addition, prospective students can choose from over 60 higher education institutions in the state.

Check out the top higher education programs and find an affordable degree in Washington.

What are Washington’s Colleges & Universities?

Washington’s Best Overall

The following list of the best small colleges and universities in Washington is composed mainly of four-year undergraduate schools (though a handful also offer graduate programs). We’ve identified 27 small colleges in Washington. The list below of the 30 best small colleges in Washington. To be included schools must fully accredited, and must have student body populations below 5,000 students.

How do we determine Washington's best small colleges and universities?

Methodology

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great! If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence in their fields of study.

Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is freer from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

To rank the influence of schools, we first determine the influence of scholars and professionals based on the number of citations and publications they have had over the past 10 years. In addition to publications and citations, we consider the web links to and from these sources, and the page views of those sources. We then match the influential people to their alma maters and institutions of employment, so that their influence is attributed to those schools. Our machine-learning Influence Ranking algorithm produces a numerical score of academic achievements, merits, and citations across Wikipedia, wikidata, Crossref, Semantic Scholar and an ever-growing body of data. If you are interested in exploring how and why we rank by influence, explore our methodology in more depth.

Best Small Colleges in Washington 2023

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2021 Ranking Archive

Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.

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Best Small Colleges in Washington 2024

10 Best Small Colleges in Washington 2024

Colleges and Universities in Washington

What are Washington’s Colleges & Universities?

Best Small Colleges in Washington 2023

Most Influential Alumni

Most Influential Alumni

Most Influential Alumni

Most Influential Alumni

Most Influential Alumni

Most Influential Alumni

Most Influential Alumni

Most Influential Alumni

Most Influential Alumni

Most Influential Alumni

Most Influential Alumni

Most Influential Alumni

Most Influential Alumni

Washington’s Best Small College in Your Area of Interest

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