Seattle University
Private College in Seattle, WA. Six-year graduation rate 76%. Median 10-year earnings $75,272.
Ten-year median earnings of $75,272 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. 76% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $19,883, neither a bargain nor a burden.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.26 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 76% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Seattle University accepts 77% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. 8,468 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. A 14% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class. 8% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 620–710 | 68 (8%) |
| SAT Math | 580–720 | |
| ACT Composite | 23–30 | 11 (1%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Seattle University →Academics
A 76% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. 84% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. A 10:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. This is a private nonprofit four-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically. 4,183 undergraduates makes this a mid-sized institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 4,163 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price averages $36,948 annually, so cost is the first thing to weigh here. The income table below is the number that matters — $22,896 at $0–30k versus $42,737 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 97% of students receive it, averaging $35,269. About 50% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 1,033 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $22,896 |
| $30–48k | $24,523 |
| $48–75k | $26,977 |
| $75–110k | $36,967 |
| $110k+ | $42,737 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,066 of these 4,163 students, totalling $14,084,875 — an average of $6,817 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (King County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)