Washington & Jefferson College

Private · Moderately Selective · PA

Photo: Tom Beck (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationPA · Northeast

SettingSuburban

Undergrads1,295

Student:faculty11:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate65.2%

6-yr grad rate69.5%

Drop-out rate18.8%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$29k

Out-of-state tuition$29k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity22.5%

Gender diversity45.6%

International1.5%

Identity—

Overview

Washington & Jefferson College, in Washington, Pennsylvania, south of Pittsburgh, was formed from two frontier academies chartered in the 1780s, making it one of the oldest colleges west of the Allegheny Mountains. That history is a real part of the college's identity, though what defines it today is a tightly focused liberal arts curriculum with unusually strong pre-professional placement.

Academics

Pre-law and pre-med preparation are the college's standout strengths, with placement into law schools and medical schools that is exceptional relative to the college's size. The curriculum stays genuinely liberal-arts in structure rather than vocational, but advising and outcomes in these two pipelines are a defining feature of a Washington & Jefferson education.

Campus & student life

The campus sits in a small city south of Pittsburgh, with the larger city within easy reach for internships, healthcare shadowing, and legal-field exposure that directly supports the college's pre-law and pre-med strengths. Class sizes are small and residential life is close-knit given the college's overall size.

Getting in

Admissions is holistic, and essays or interviews touching on pre-law or pre-med intentions are common given how central those pipelines are to the college's identity. The applicant pool includes many students who have specifically identified W&J for its placement record in those fields.

Worth knowing

The Magellan Project funds an off-campus experiential learning opportunity — research, internship, travel, or service — for every student, a distinctive, funded guarantee not common even among well-resourced liberal arts colleges.

washjeff.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate80.6%

Enrolled mid-50%1270

Test policynot used

Rec letters—

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early decisionDec 15

Regular decisionApr 1

AdmissionRolling

Verified from the school’s admissions page ↗

Applying