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George Washington University: Rankings, Admissions, Cost & Majors

918 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
47% Acceptance Rate

George Washington University is a private not-for-profit institution in Washington, District of Columbia enrolling 11,182 undergraduates. It accepts 47% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 84%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #48 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 1%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.

Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.

How Is George Washington University Ranked?

George Washington University ranks #48 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 1%.

#48 Best Colleges in Nation
#2 Best Colleges in DC
George Washington University ranking badge

2027 Rankings

College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.

George Washington University was awarded 918 badges in the 2027 rankings.

Overall Quality

According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, George Washington University is ranked #48 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 1% of all schools in the nation!

Within the state, George Washington University holds the #2 spot on the Best Colleges in District of Columbia ranking.

See all of the rankings for George Washington University.

Is It Hard to Get Into George Washington University?

47% Acceptance Rate
48% Of Accepted Are Women
26% Submit SAT Scores

Acceptance Rate

The acceptance rate at George Washington University is a competitive 47%, so make sure you take your application seriously when putting it together. Even leaving out a minor detail could be a reason to move you to the rejection pile.

Average Test Scores

About 26% of students accepted to George Washington University submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 680 and 750. Math scores were between 670 and 750.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for George Washington University  ( 680 to 750 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for George Washington University  ( 670 to 750 )
200
800

George Washington University received ACT scores from 11% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 31 and 34.

ACT Composite Scores for George Washington University  ( 31 to 34 )
1
36

Learn more about George Washington University admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at George Washington University?

13 to 1 Student to Faculty
49% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

With a student to faculty ratio of 13 to 1, George Washington University is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it’s a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at George Washington University is 49%. This is comparable to the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  49 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at George Washington University?

92% Freshmen Retention
84% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

The freshmen retention rate of 92% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like George Washington University enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.

Freshmen Retention Rate  92 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at George Washington University for first-time, full-time students is 84%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  84 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at George Washington University.

How Diverse Is George Washington University?

11,182 Undergraduate Students
42.9% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
63.9% Percent Women

In the current academic year, there are 11,182 undergraduates at George Washington University.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at George Washington University.

How Much Does George Washington University Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
32% Take Out Loans
$25,752 Total Student Loans

The typical net cost at George Washington University is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.

Net Price by Income Group for George Washington University

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$17,440 $17,292 $22,080 $28,100 $55,337

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of George Washington University, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At George Washington University, approximately 32% of students took out student loans averaging $6,438 a year. That adds up to $25,752 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 1.0%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for George Washington University.

How Much Do George Washington University Graduates Earn?

$90,873 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University make about $90,873 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is good news for future George Washington University graduates since it is 85% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Average Salary for George Washington University Graduates

See which majors at George Washington University make the most money.

Where Is George Washington University Located?

District of Columbia State
11,182 Undergraduate Students
Large City Campus Setting

George Washington University is a private not-for-profit institution situated in Washington, District of Columbia. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life. Get more details about the location of George Washington University.

Location of George Washington University

Contact information for George Washington University are listed below.

Contact Details
Address: 1918 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052
Phone: 2029941000
Website: www.gwu.edu
Facebook: www.facebook.com/georgewashingtonuniversity
Twitter: twitter.com/#!/GWtweets

What Majors Does George Washington University Offer?

27 Majors With Completions
17,942 Undergraduate Degrees

During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 27 majors graduated from George Washington University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Completions Average Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies 8,971 NA
International Relations & Security 747 $52,043
Law 569 $77,345
Public Health 554 $59,884
Political Science & Government 481 $50,861
Business Administration & Management 377 $107,834
Nursing 367 $86,402
Computer Science 273 $75,984
Health/Medical Admin Services 243 $86,952
Management Sciences & Methods 233 $127,076

Learn more about the majors offered at George Washington University along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Does George Washington University Offer Online Classes?

8% Take At Least One Class Online
4% Take All Classes Online

844 students took at least one online class at George Washington University.

Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.

Learn more about online learning at George Washington University.

Want to see how other colleges compare to George Washington University? Compare them side by side using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.

Notes and References

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

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