by our College Data Analytics TeamPacific Lutheran University is a private not-for-profit institution in Tacoma, Washington enrolling 2,401 undergraduates. It accepts 78% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 69%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #433 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 8%), 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.
Pacific Lutheran University ranks #433 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 8%.
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
Pacific Lutheran University was awarded 23 badges in the 2027 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, PLU is ranked #433 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.
Within the state, PLU holds the #11 spot on the Best Colleges in Washington ranking.
See all of the rankings for Pacific Lutheran University.
The acceptance rate at Pacific Lutheran University is 78%. That’s higher than the rate at many schools, but still low enough to be considered somewhat selective. If you want to get in, you’ll need good grades and to be able to show that PLU is a good fit for you.
About 15% of students accepted to PLU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 540 and 660. Math scores were between 500 and 600.
PLU received ACT scores from 2% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 22 and 28.
Learn more about Pacific Lutheran University admissions.
At PLU, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 12 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Pacific Lutheran University is 70%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate of 82% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Pacific Lutheran 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.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at PLU for first-time, full-time students is 69%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Pacific Lutheran University.
During the most recent academic year, there were 2,401 undergraduates at PLU.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Pacific Lutheran University.
The typical net cost at PLU 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.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $13,609 | $12,948 | $15,756 | $22,535 | $26,915 |
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 PLU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At PLU, approximately 44% of students took out student loans averaging $11,353 a year. That adds up to $45,412 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 2.1%. 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 Pacific Lutheran University.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Pacific Lutheran University make about $66,990 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. That’s great news for Pacific Lutheran University students since it is 36% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Pacific Lutheran University make the most money.
Pacific Lutheran University is an private not-for-profit institution found in Tacoma, Washington. Tacoma is considered a suburb and offers tranquility and safety near the excitement of a city center. Get more details about the location of Pacific Lutheran University.
Contact details for Pacific Lutheran University are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 12180 Park Ave South, Tacoma, WA 98447-0003 |
| Phone: | 2535357411 |
| Website: | www.plu.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Lutheran_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/Pacific.Lutheran.University |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/PLUNEWS |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 21 majors graduated from Pacific Lutheran 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 | 972 | NA |
| Nursing | 256 | $70,364 |
| Business Administration & Management | 115 | $44,479 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 62 | $58,567 |
| General Biology | 51 | $27,895 |
| Health & Physical Education | 47 | $27,207 |
| General Psychology | 32 | $28,221 |
| Communication & Media Studies | 31 | $33,589 |
| Music | 26 | $29,749 |
| Computer Science | 25 | NA |
223 students took at least one online class at Pacific Lutheran University.
Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.
Learn more about online learning at Pacific Lutheran University.
Curious how schools stack up against PLU? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.
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.
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