Western Washington University
Bellingham, WA
Western Washington University is a public university in Bellingham, Washington, a small city, with 13,544 undergraduates. Interdisciplinary studies and natural resources are its signature fields: together they make up 15% of its bachelor's degrees, three and a half times their share across the colleges we cover. 65% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $62,569 ten years after starting.
Western Washington University admitted 11,517 of 12,290 applicants for the fall 2025 entering class (93.7%).
- Acceptance rate
- 93.7%
- Fall 2025 class
- In-state tuition
- $9,582
- $28,707 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $21,193
- Average, students with aid
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1060–1310
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 Western Washington University is known for
Measured by the 3,383 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Interdisciplinary studies
8.6%
of its bachelor's degrees: about three times the 2.9% share across the colleges we cover.
Natural resources
6.5%
of its bachelor's degrees: about five times the 1.2% share across the colleges we cover.
- Psychology2407.1% of degrees$53,224+5% vs $50,706 nationally
- Natural Resources Conservation and Research2076.1% of degrees$53,781About the $55,012 national median
- Computer and Information Sciences1283.8% of degrees$110,138+19% vs $92,374 nationally
- Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies (other)1283.8% of degrees$43,919−21% vs $55,693 nationally
- Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies1153.4% of degrees$38,460−21% vs $48,471 nationally
- Marketing1153.4% of degrees$69,323About the $69,303 national median
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
Small city
Bellingham, WA
Undergraduates
13,544
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Master's university, larger programs
Living on campus
A quarter to half
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
18 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
1%
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 Western Washington University
Two things Western 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.
9% of the enrolled class sent an SAT.
The SAT band on this page describes that share of the class, not all of it. Another 2% sent an ACT. Western Washington University files test scores under “considered”.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Families paid $21,193 on average after aid.
Averaged across students who received federal aid: the price after grants and scholarships, not the sticker price.
Source: the College Scorecard
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
93.7%
11,517 admitted of 12,290 applicants
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
SAT, middle 50%
1060–1310
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
ACT, middle 50%
23–31
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Average GPA of admitted students
3.42
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
9%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
2%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Where do you actually stand at Western 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.
See where I stand ›3 days free · $0 today · cancel anytime
What Western Washington University costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
In-state tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $9,582 ($28,707 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $30,359. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $21,193 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$9,582
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$28,707
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$30,359
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$21,193
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $30,359 full cost.
- Under $30k$12,915Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$14,147Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$17,539Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$24,301Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$27,984Typical 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
65%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
79%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$62,569
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$18,500
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 Western 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
- Essayconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Recommendationsconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Class rankconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Not considered
- Legacy
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Essays on this application
6 essay prompts on the application: you would write 2, and 4 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
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- Eastern Washington University91.8%
- Seattle Pacific University91.1%
- Central Washington University90.2%
- The Evergreen State College97.2%
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.
See where I stand ›3 days free · $0 today · cancel anytime
