The Evergreen State College

Public · Moderately Selective · WA

Photo: Gregg M. Erickson (Farwestern) (CC BY 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationWA · West

SettingSuburban

Undergrads2,160

Student:faculty17:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate30%

6-yr grad rate40.7%

Drop-out rate30.1%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$9k

Out-of-state tuition$32k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity43.6%

Gender diversity60.9%

International0%

Identity—

Overview

Evergreen is a public liberal-arts college in Olympia, Washington, built from the ground up to work differently from a conventional university: there are no traditional majors or letter grades, and much of the curriculum runs through team-taught, interdisciplinary programs rather than standalone courses.

Academics

Instead of declaring a major, students design individualized paths of study through full-time, thematically organized programs that often combine what would elsewhere be separate departments, such as environmental science with policy, or literature with history, taught collaboratively by multiple faculty. Evaluation is narrative rather than by GPA, a structure that rewards self-direction and can be a poor fit for students who want conventional grades and requirements.

Campus & student life

The heavily forested campus sits on Puget Sound, reinforcing the college's strong environmental and outdoors identity. Student culture is progressive, artistic, and independent-minded, with a long-standing reputation for activism and alternative living arrangements.

Getting in

Evergreen's process weighs whether a student can thrive in a self-directed, non-traditional academic structure more heavily than test scores or class rank; essays and personal statements carry real weight.

Worth knowing

Because there are no majors or grades in the conventional sense, students transferring elsewhere or applying to graduate school need to plan ahead for how Evergreen's narrative evaluations will be read by other institutions.

evergreen.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate96.4%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1035–1253 · ACT 23–29

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying