University of Washington Requirements for Admission

What are University of Washington's admission requirements? While there are a lot of pieces that go into a college application, you should focus on only a few critical things:

  • GPA requirements
  • Testing requirements, including SAT and ACT requirements
  • Application requirements

In this guide we'll cover what you need to get into University of Washington and build a strong application.

School location: Seattle, WA

This school is also known as: U Dub, UW


Admissions Rate: 42.5%

If you want to get in, the first thing to look at is the acceptance rate. This tells you how competitive the school is and how serious their requirements are.

The acceptance rate at University of Washington is 42.5%. For every 100 applicants, 43 are admitted.

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This means the school is moderately selective. The school expects you to meet their requirements for GPA and SAT/ACT scores, but they're more flexible than other schools. If you exceed their requirements, you have an excellent chance of getting in. But if you don't, you might be one of the unlucky minority that gets a rejection letter.


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University of Washington GPA Requirements

Many schools specify a minimum GPA requirement, but this is often just the bare minimum to submit an application without immediately getting rejected.

The GPA requirement that really matters is the GPA you need for a real chance of getting in. For this, we look at the school's average GPA for its current students.

Average GPA: 3.8

The average GPA at University of Washington is 3.8.

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(Most schools use a weighted GPA out of 4.0, though some report an unweighted GPA.

With a GPA of 3.8, University of Washington requires you to be near the top of your class, and well above average. Your transcript should show mostly A's. Ideally, you will also have taken several AP or IB classes to show that you can handle academics at a college level.

If you're currently a junior or senior, your GPA is hard to change in time for college applications. If your GPA is at or below the school average of 3.8, you'll need a higher SAT or ACT score to compensate. This will help you compete effectively against other applicants who have higher GPAs than you.


SAT and ACT Requirements

Each school has different requirements for standardized testing. Only a few schools require the SAT or ACT, but many consider your scores if you choose to submit them.

University of Washington hasn't explicitly named a policy on SAT/ACT requirements, but because it's published average SAT or ACT scores (we'll cover this next), it's likely test flexible. Typically, these schools say, "if you feel your SAT or ACT score represents you well as a student, submit them. Otherwise, don't."

Despite this policy, the truth is that most students still take the SAT or ACT, and most applicants to University of Washington will submit their scores. If you don't submit scores, you'll have one fewer dimension to show that you're worthy of being admitted, compared to other students. We therefore recommend that you consider taking the SAT or ACT, and doing well.

University of Washington SAT Requirements

Many schools say they have no SAT score cutoff, but the truth is that there is a hidden SAT requirement. This is based on the school's average score.

Average SAT: 1410

The average SAT score composite at University of Washington is a 1410 on the 1600 SAT scale.

This score makes University of Washington Strongly Competitive for SAT test scores.

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University of Washington SAT Score Analysis (New 1600 SAT)

The 25th percentile SAT score is 1280, and the 75th percentile SAT score is 1490. In other words, a 1280 on the SAT places you below average, while a 1490 will move you up to above average.

Here's the breakdown of SAT scores by section:

SectionAverage25th Percentile75th Percentile
Math720630780
Reading + Writing690630730
Composite141012801490

SAT Score Choice Policy

The Score Choice policy at your school is an important part of your testing strategy.

University of Washington has the Score Choice policy of "All Scores."

This means that University of Washington requires you to send all SAT scores you've ever taken to their office.

This sounds daunting, but most schools don't actually consider all your scores equally. For example, if you scored an 1300 on one test and a 1500 on another, they won't actually average the two tests.

More commonly, the school will take your highest score on a single test date. Even better, some schools form a Superscore - that is, they take your highest section score across all your test dates and combine them.

Some students are still worried about submitting too many test scores. They're afraid that University of Washington will look down on too many attempts to raise your score. But how many is too many?

From our research and talking to admissions officers, we've learned that 4-6 tests is a safe number to submit. The college understands that you want to have the best chance of admission, and retaking the test is a good way to do this. Within a reasonable number of tests, they honestly don't care how many times you've taken it. They'll just focus on your score.

If you take it more than 6 times, colleges start wondering why you're not improving with each test. They'll question your study skills and ability to improve.

But below 6 tests, we strongly encourage retaking the test to maximize your chances. If your SAT score is currently below a 1410, we strongly recommend that you consider prepping for the SAT and retaking it. You don't have much to lose, and you can potentially raise your score and significantly boost your chances of getting in.


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University of Washington ACT Requirements

Just like for the SAT, University of Washington likely doesn't have a hard ACT cutoff, but if you score too low, your application will get tossed in the trash.

Average ACT: 32

The average ACT score at University of Washington is 32. This score makes University of Washington Strongly Competitive for ACT scores.

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The 25th percentile ACT score is 30, and the 75th percentile ACT score is 34.

Even though University of Washington likely says they have no minimum ACT requirement, if you apply with a 30 or below, you'll have a very hard time getting in, unless you have something else very impressive in your application. There are so many applicants scoring 32 and above that a 30 will look academically weak.

ACT Score Sending Policy

If you're taking the ACT as opposed to the SAT, you have a huge advantage in how you send scores, and this dramatically affects your testing strategy.

Here it is: when you send ACT scores to colleges, you have absolute control over which tests you send. You could take 10 tests, and only send your highest one. This is unlike the SAT, where many schools require you to send all your tests ever taken.

This means that you have more chances than you think to improve your ACT score. To try to aim for the school's ACT requirement of 32 and above, you should try to take the ACT as many times as you can. When you have the final score that you're happy with, you can then send only that score to all your schools.

ACT Superscore Policy

By and large, most colleges do not superscore the ACT. (Superscore means that the school takes your best section scores from all the test dates you submit, and then combines them into the best possible composite score). Thus, most schools will just take your highest ACT score from a single sitting.

We weren't able to find the school's exact ACT policy, which most likely means that it does not Superscore. Regardless, you can choose your single best ACT score to send in to University of Washington, so you should prep until you reach our recommended target ACT score of 32.


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SAT/ACT Writing Section Requirements

Currently, only the ACT has an optional essay section that all students can take. The SAT used to also have an optional Essay section, but since June 2021, this has been discontinued unless you are taking the test as part of school-day testing in a few states. Because of this, no school requires the SAT Essay or ACT Writing section, but some schools do recommend certain students submit their results if they have them.

University of Washington considers the SAT Essay/ACT Writing section optional and may not include it as part of their admissions consideration. You don't need to worry too much about Writing for this school, but other schools you're applying to may require or recommend it.



Final Admissions Verdict

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Because this school is moderately selective, strong academic performance will almost guarantee you admission. Scoring a 1490 SAT or a 34 ACT or above will nearly guarantee you admission. Because the school admits 42.5% of all applicants, being far above average raises the admission rate for you to nearly 100%.

If you can achieve a high SAT/ACT score, the rest of your application essentially doesn't matter. You still need to meet the rest of the application requirements, and your GPA shouldn't be too far off from the school average of 3.8. But you won't need dazzling extracurriculars and breathtaking letters of recommendation to get in. You can get in based on the merits of your score alone.

But if your score is a 1280 SAT or a 30 ACT and below, you have a good chance of being one of the unlucky few to be rejected.


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We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools.

Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.


Admissions Calculator

What are your chances of admission at University of Washington?
Chances of admission with these scores:

Here's our custom admissions calculator. Plug in your numbers to see what your chances of getting in are.

Pick your test: SAT ACT

SAT Score
Your GPA

Note: Your admission decision relies not only on your GPA and SAT/ACT scores, but also on your coursework difficulty, extracurriculars, letters of recommendation, and personal statements. This tool provides only a simplistic estimate of your chances of admission. Instead of treating this tool as a crystal ball, we recommend you consider the big picture of what your chance means:
  • 80-100%: Safety school: Strong chance of getting in
  • 50-80%: More likely than not getting in
  • 20-50%: Lower but still good chance of getting in
  • 5-20%: Reach school: Unlikely to get in, but still have a shot
  • 0-5%: Hard reach school: Very difficult to get in
We recommend you apply to schools across a range of chances. Applying to some safety schools will guarantee you have a college to go to, while applying to some reach schools will give you a shot at getting into the school at the top of your range.

How would your chances improve with a better score?

Take your current SAT score and add 160 points (or take your ACT score and add 4 points) to the calculator above. See how much your chances improve?

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Here's a summary of why we're so much more effective than other prep programs:

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Application Requirements

Every school requires an application with the bare essentials - high school transcript and GPA, application form, and other core information. Many schools, as explained above, also require SAT and ACT scores, as well as letters of recommendation, application essays, and interviews. We'll cover the exact requirements of University of Washington here.

Application Requirements Overview

  • Common Application Not accepted
  • Electronic Application Available
  • Essay or Personal Statement Required for all freshmen
  • Letters of Recommendation
  • Interview Not required
  • Application Fee $80
  • Fee Waiver Available? Available
  • Other Notes

Testing Requirements

  • SAT or ACT Considered if submitted
  • Scores Due in Office None

Coursework Requirements

  • Subject Required Years
  • English 4
  • Math 3
  • Science 2
  • Foreign Language 2
  • Social Studies 3
  • History
  • Electives 1

Deadlines and Early Admissions

  •  
    • Offered? Deadline Notification
  • Regular Admission
    • Yes November 15 March 15
  • Early Action
    • No
  • Early Decision
    • No

Admissions Office Information

Our Expert's Notes

We did more detailed research into this school's admissions process and found the following information:

Note the final application deadline of December 1. No transcripts or letters of recommendation are required -- unless you are applying to the Honors program, in which case you will submit one letter in addition to extra honors essays on the UW application. More info on applying to honors available here.

UW offers merit scholarships, some with applications and some that you are automatically considered for. Check out their scholarships page for more information.

Source


Other Schools For You

If you're interested in University of Washington, you'll probably be interested in these schools as well. We've divided them into 3 categories depending on how hard they are to get into, relative to University of Washington.


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Reach Schools: Harder to Get Into

These schools are have higher average SAT scores than University of Washington. If you improve your SAT score, you'll be competitive for these schools.

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
Georgetown University Washington, DC 1480 33
University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 1470 33
Middlebury College Middlebury, VT 1466 34
College of William and Mary Williamsburg, VA 1460 33
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art New York, NY 1460 33
University of Maryland College Park, MD 1450 33
Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC 1450 33

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Same Level: Equally Hard to Get Into

If you're competitive for University of Washington, these schools will offer you a similar chance of admission.

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
Binghamton University Binghamton, NY 1430 31
Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA 1430 32
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY 1428 32
Boston University Boston, MA 1418 32
University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA 1415 31
University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 1405 31
Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY 1396 31

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Safety Schools: Easier to Get Into

If you're currently competitive for University of Washington, you should have no problem getting into these schools. If University of Washington is currently out of your reach, you might already be competitive for these schools.

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA 1358 30
Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY 1352 31
United States Military Academy West Point, NY 1331 30
University of Connecticut Storrs, CT 1315 29
Penn State University Park University Park, PA 1310 29
Syracuse University Syracuse, NY 1310 29
University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX 1291 28

Data on this page is sourced from Peterson's Databases © 2024 (Peterson's LLC. All rights reserved.) as well as additional publicly available sources.


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Want to build the best possible college application?

We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League.

We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools.

Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.


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