Seattle University

Private · Moderately Selective · WA

Photo: PCN02WPS (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationWA · West

SettingUrban

Undergrads4,062

Student:faculty10:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate67%

6-yr grad rate75.5%

Drop-out rate15.8%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$57k

Out-of-state tuition$57k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity71.2%

Gender diversity60.3%

International7.2%

IdentityRoman Catholic

Overview

Seattle University is a private Jesuit university on Capitol Hill, blocks from downtown Seattle, combining a genuine urban location with a Jesuit mission that treats service, ethics, and social justice as explicit parts of the education rather than an add-on.

Academics

Nursing, business, and computer science are the clearest strengths, each with direct pipelines into Seattle's health-care and technology employers; the Jesuit tradition of close mentorship shows up in relatively small classes and required core coursework in ethics and reflection alongside the major.

Campus & student life

The Capitol Hill location puts students in the middle of one of Seattle's most walkable neighborhoods, and campus life leans toward service trips, immersion programs, and social-justice-oriented clubs consistent with the Jesuit mission, alongside Division I athletics (the Redhawks compete in the WAC).

Getting in

Admission is holistic, and the application is known for valuing service and community engagement alongside academics, consistent with the Jesuit emphasis on the whole person rather than test scores or coursework alone.

After graduation

Nursing and computer-science graduates are heavily recruited by Seattle-area hospital systems and tech employers, often through internship pipelines into major Puget Sound companies, and the Jesuit alumni network provides connections through the broader national network of Jesuit universities as well as locally.

Worth knowing

The core curriculum requires coursework in ethics, theology, and reflection regardless of major, a defining feature of the Jesuit approach that shapes the degree even for students in technical fields like computer science.

seattleu.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate76.9%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1200–1430 · ACT 23–30

Test policyoptional

Rec letters2

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early actionNov 15

Regular decisionJan 15

Applying