Admissions & selectivity
University of Washington-Seattle Campus Acceptance Rate & Admissions
What is the acceptance rate at UW Seattle?
UW Seattle’s reported acceptance rate is 39.2%.
- Acceptance rate · Fall 2024
- 39.2%
Source: College Scorecard · Fall 2024 admissions. Acceptance rates can change from year to year; this figure does not predict the current or next admission cycle.
Source: University of Washington-Seattle Campus Common Data Set 2025-26, C1 · first-time, first-year students.
How to interpret the acceptance rate
The University of Washington-Seattle Campus admitted 39.1% of applicants, well below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 72,933 applicants, 30,446 admitted, and 7,129 enrolled.
What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled UW Seattle students report?
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, University of Washington-Seattle Campus reported that 19% of its entering class submitted SAT scores. The middle half of those SAT submitters scored from 1320 to 1502.
Among the 5% who submitted ACT scores, the middle half scored from 30 to 34. Far more of the entering class submitted SAT scores than ACT scores, so the SAT range describes more of the class.
Most entering students submitted neither test, so both ranges describe a minority of the class.
The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at UW Seattle. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.
19% of entering students submitted SAT scores
- 25th percentile
- 1320
- Median
- 1440
- 75th percentile
- 1502
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
5% of entering students submitted ACT scores
- 25th percentile
- 30
- Median
- 32
- 75th percentile
- 34
CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.
Source: University of Washington-Seattle Campus Common Data Set 2025-26, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.
Who enrolls at UW Seattle?
- Pell Grant recipients
- 14.9%
- Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group
- 18.9%
- First-year retention
- 94.7%
Retention source: College Scorecard; full-time first-year retention.
About these student measures
The entering-student group includes part-time entrants as well as other attendance patterns.
The University of Washington-Seattle Campus enrolls 31,942 undergraduates, with Pell Grant recipients making up 14.9% of the student body. An estimated 18.9% of undergraduates enter as transfers or part-time students, reflecting a sizable pathway into the university alongside the traditional first-year route.
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 72,933 first-year applicants, 30,446 admitted, and 7,129 enrolled. For transfer applicants that same cycle, 5,830 applied, 2,469 were admitted, and 1,685 enrolled.
The composition suggests a large public university that serves a substantial transfer population alongside first-year entrants.
The university retains 94.7% of its first-year students, well above the peer median of 83.1%. Its six-year graduation rate of 85.2% also clears the peer median of 65.0% by a wide margin.
Pell Grant recipients complete at 72.6%, which sits below the overall rate by 12.6 percentage points. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported a 95% retention rate for the first-time, full-time fall 2024 entering class.
Enrolled students can expect high persistence through the first year and a strong likelihood of completing a degree within six years. The completion gap for Pell recipients remains a measurable reality, so students who qualify for the grant should engage academic support resources early and consistently.
Data & methodology
Sources and reporting periods: methodology.
Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.
Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.
Admission rates describe past applicants, not an individual’s chance of admission; confirm requirements and deadlines with the institution.
Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.