Whitman, Gonzaga top list of 10 leading WA universities and colleges, according to study
As many high school seniors and their parents are thinking about college with application deadlines approaching, choosing the best college can be a hard decision.
A recent nationwide study has rated the top colleges and universities across the country, as well as naming the top 10 schools in Washington state, four of which are located in Eastern Washington. They include Whitman College in first place, Gonzaga University in third place, followed by Washington State University in fifth place and Central Washington University in tenth place.
WalletHub, a personal finance website, evaluated 913 colleges across the country across seven main factors: education outcomes, career outcomes, student selectivity, cost and financing, campus safety, faculty resources and campus experience.
The top 10 colleges and universities in the U.S.
In first place as the top school in the United States was Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
MIT was followed by Yale University, California Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Harvard University, Stanford University, Rice University, University of Pennsylvania, Georgia Institute of Technology and Duke University in the top 10 schools.
All schools in the top ten rankings scored closely across all seven factors and total ranking score.
No Washington state college or university placed in WalletHub’s top 30 rankings.
Top 10 colleges and universities in Washington state
WalletHub also compared schools across Washington state by the same seven factors to determine which schools were in the top 10. Eastern Washington ranked highly, having two of the top three schools in its area.
Rated as the top school in Washington state was Whitman College, according to a press release from Diana Polk, WalletHub’s communications manager. The Washington state school rankings were released through an emailed press release, not on WalletHub’s website.
Following Whitman College was the University of Washington, Gonzaga University, Seattle University, Washington State University, Whitworth University, Saint Martin’s University, Western Washington University, Seattle Pacific University, and in tenth place, Central Washington University. Four of the top ten schools in the state were found in Eastern Washington.
The press release compared the top three schools in Washington across seven evaluating factors:
Whitman College ranked:
▪ 2nd in admission rate.
▪ 13th in net cost.
▪ 1st in student-faculty ratio.
▪ 8th in on-campus crime.
▪ 8th in gender & racial diversity.
▪ 1st in graduation rate.
▪ 5th in post-attendance median salary.
University of Washington ranked:
▪ 1st in admission rate.
▪ 9th in net cost.
▪ 13th in student-faculty ratio.
▪ 9th in on-campus crime.
▪ 1st in gender & racial diversity.
▪ 3rd in graduation rate.
▪ 3rd in post-attendance median salary.
Gonzaga University ranked:
▪ 4th in admission rate.
▪ 11th in net cost.
▪ 2nd in student-faculty ratio.
▪ 7th in on-campus crime.
▪ 13th in gender & racial diversity.
▪ 2nd in graduation rate.
▪ 1st in post-attendance median salary.
This story was originally published October 19, 2022 at 9:43 AM with the headline "Whitman, Gonzaga top list of 10 leading WA universities and colleges, according to study."
