George Washington University
Washington, DC
George Washington University is a private research university in Washington, D.C., a large city, with 11,182 undergraduates. Social sciences is its signature field: 32% of its bachelor's degrees, about four times its share across the colleges we cover. 84% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $90,873 ten years after starting.
George Washington University admitted 12,741 of 27,034 applicants for the fall 2025 entering class (47.1%).
- Acceptance rate
- 47.1%
- Fall 2025 class
- Tuition and fees
- $67,710
- 2024–25 school year
- Paid after aid
- $36,586
- Average, students with aid
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1310–1450
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2025 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What George Washington University is known for
Measured by the 3,148 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Social sciences
32.3%
of its bachelor's degrees: about four times the 8.0% share across the colleges we cover.
- International Relations and National Security Studies51116.2% of degrees$76,751+15% vs $66,596 nationally
- Political Science and Government3059.7% of degrees$79,692+26% vs $63,293 nationally
- Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing2728.6% of degrees$96,741+9% vs $88,910 nationally
- Business Administration, Management and Operations1565.0% of degreesToo few graduates to publish
- Public Health1294.1% of degrees$87,217+48% vs $58,808 nationally
- Economics1123.6% of degrees$99,406+20% vs $82,686 nationally
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Large city
Washington, DC
Undergraduates
11,182
Fall 2024
Type
Private, nonprofit
Doctoral university, very high research activity
Living on campus
Half or more
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
13 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
7%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at George Washington University
Three things George Washington University published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
616 admitted from a waitlist of 6,084.
2,858 students accepted a place on that list, and 616 were admitted from it, 21.6% of the students who waited. A waitlist offer here is not a near-miss anyone can plan around.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
36.5% of the enrolled class sent an SAT.
The SAT band on this page describes that share of the class, not all of it. Another 13.9% sent an ACT. George Washington University files test scores under “considered”.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
George Washington University asks for no supplemental essay.
Of the 3 prompts we track for this application, none is one you would have to write.
Source: the prompts we track for this application
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
47.1%
12,741 admitted of 27,034 applicants
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
SAT, middle 50%
1310–1450
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
ACT, middle 50%
31–34
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
36.5%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
13.9%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Where do you actually stand at George Washington University?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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What George Washington University costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
Tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $67,710, and the full cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $83,856. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $36,586 a year on average.
Tuition and fees
$67,710
2024–25 school year
Full cost of attendance
$83,856
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$36,586
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $83,856 full cost.
- Under $30k$17,440Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$17,292Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$22,080Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$28,100Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$55,337Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
84%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
92%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$90,873
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$20,449
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
What George Washington University says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Course rigorvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- GPAvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Essayimportant
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Recommendationsimportant
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Not considered
- Class rank
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
The waitlist, as the school reported it
Published counts, including the ones schools rarely lead with.
- Offered a waitlist place
- 6,084
- Accepted the place
- 2,858
- Admitted from the waitlist
- 616
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Essays on this application
3 essay prompts on the application: 3 are optional.
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in Washington, D.C.
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- Howard University41.3%
- American University65.6%
- Georgetown University13.5%
- The Catholic University of America83.8%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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