Washington College

Private · Moderately Selective · MD

Photo: Washingtoncollege (English Wikipedia) (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationMD · South

SettingRural

Undergrads891

Student:faculty8:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate61.5%

6-yr grad rate65.4%

Drop-out rate16.1%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$55k

Out-of-state tuition$55k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity31.7%

Gender diversity56.1%

International1.4%

Identity—

Overview

Washington College, in Chestertown on Maryland's Eastern Shore, holds the distinction of being the first college chartered in the newly independent United States, with George Washington's personal endorsement and a financial gift attached to its founding. It is a small liberal-arts college with an outsized literary reputation and a genuine tie to early American history through its setting and programs.

Academics

Writing is the college's signature strength, anchored by the Sophie Kerr Prize — the largest undergraduate literary award in the country — which shapes a campus culture where serious student writing is visibly rewarded and celebrated. The C.V. Starr Center for the American Experience runs public history and writing fellowships unusually prominent for a college this size, and environmental science programs make direct use of the adjoining Chester River for fieldwork.

Campus & student life

The small campus sits directly on the Chester River in a historic Chesapeake Bay town, giving rise to a genuine sailing and water-recreation culture alongside the college's academic identity. The close residential community and small-town Eastern Shore setting shape a quiet, historically minded campus atmosphere.

Getting in

Admission review is holistic, and strong writing is a real differentiator in applications given the college's literary reputation; interest in early American history or environmental fieldwork is also a natural fit given the college's programs.

After graduation

Graduates have a strong record of moving into publishing, professional writing, museum and public-history work, and environmental science or policy careers connected to Chesapeake Bay research.

Worth knowing

The Sophie Kerr Prize is a genuinely large, well-known annual literary award unique to Washington College, and the C.V. Starr Center's public programming gives the college a national reputation in early American history disproportionate to its size.

washcoll.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate56.9%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1140–1390 · ACT 27–31

Test policyoptional

Rec letters1

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Applying