Gonzaga University

Overview

Rankings

• #1 Best Business Colleges in Washington
• #1 Best MBA Programs in Washington
• #2 Best Online Colleges in Washington
• #4 Best Communications Colleges in Washington
• #5 Best Biology Colleges in Washington
• #6 Best Colleges in Washington
• #7 Best Bachelor's Programs in Washington
• #7 Best Master's Programs in Washington

Academics & Admissions

Is It Hard to Get Into Gonzaga University? Acceptance Rate & Requirements

Based in Spokane, Washington, Gonzaga University admits most of the students who apply; the acceptance rate is roughly 82%. Admitted students typically arrive with an average SAT score near 1,335. The graduation rate is roughly 87%.

Acceptance Rate

82%

Retention Rate

93%

SAT Average

1335

ACT Midpoint

29

SAT Range

1190–1380

ACT Range

27–31

Full-Time Faculty

59%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$11,036

Student–Faculty Ratio

12:1

Diversity Index

0.58

First-Gen Students

13%

Applicants

9,887

Admitted

6,895

Inside the Admissions Office

School-reported Common Data Set · 2024-25

The acceptance rate tells you how hard Gonzaga University is to get into. Its Common Data Set tells you what happens once you are admitted: how many students say yes, how many arrived without test scores, and whether applying early tilts the odds.

Submitted SAT

22%

of enrolled freshmen

Submitted ACT

7%

of enrolled freshmen

Cost & Financial Aid

How Much Does It Cost to Attend Gonzaga University? Tuition, Net Price & Aid

Published tuition at Gonzaga University is $55,480, but few families pay that. The number to watch is net price, what students actually pay each year after federal grants and institutional scholarships. Here it averages about $35,119. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $20,833 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $24,454 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$55,480

Out-of-State

$55,480

Avg Net Price

$35,119

Median Debt

$24,454

Pell Grant Rate

14%

Federal Loan Rate

36%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at Gonzaga University — the net price for your income, your admission odds, and the outcomes that follow. These are patterns from federal data, not predictions.

Graduate Outcomes

Is Gonzaga University Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of Gonzaga University earn a median of $78,892, well above the national average for bachelor's degree holders.

6 Years After Entry

$66,525

8 Years

$76,082

10 Years

$78,892

Debt-to-Earnings

0.31x

Earning > $25K

78%

Social Mobility

Data: Raj Chetty's Mobility Report Card · 30M+ anonymized tax records

Does Gonzaga University Drive Upward Mobility? Economic Mobility & Low-Income Outcomes

Gonzaga University is a measurable contributor to upward mobility. Its mobility rate, the share of students who start in the bottom income quintile and climb to the top, is 0.80%, in line with strong performers nationally. Access is narrower: only about 2.7% of students come from the bottom income quintile, typical of more selective, higher-income institutions. Among bottom-quintile students who attend, roughly 29.7% go on to reach the top of the income ladder. The median family income of students sits near $121,100, a snapshot of the campus's socioeconomic mix.

Mobility Rate

0.80%

Bottom 20% → Top 20%

Success Rate

29.7%

If bottom 20% get in

From Bottom 20%

2.7%

Share of students

Parent Median Income

$164,532

today's $ (2015 cohort data)

Social Capital

Data: Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas

How Connected Is Gonzaga University? Social Capital & Cross-Class Networks

Social capital, the web of cross-class friendships that researchers link to long-run upward mobility, runs high at Gonzaga University. Its economic connectedness score is 1.77, where about 1.0 is the national norm. Its friending bias is low (-0.01), a sign that students from different economic backgrounds actually mix rather than self-segregate. Around 7% of students take part in civic and volunteering activity.

Economic Connectedness

1.77

Cross-class friendships

Friending Bias

-0.01

Lower = more inclusive

Volunteering Rate

7.5%

Support Ratio

1.00

Community support

Innovation & Knowledge Creation

Patents, inventors, and research influence · Opportunity Insights & Times Higher Education

Gonzaga University produces inventors at a measurable rate, with 31 patents tied to its graduates.

Inventor Rate

0.81%

Top 28% nationally

Patents Produced

31

Linked to graduates

Patent Citations

135

Downstream influence

Inventors From Low-Income

0.68%

Bottom-20% families

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Federal Grants

$9,571,000

Investment Income

$1,805,000

Top Programs

The fields Gonzaga University awards the most degrees in, by share of completions. Where federal field-of-study data exists, we show what graduates in that major earned early in their careers. Each links to its degree guide — or see what someone with your income, scores, and major would pay and earn here in the Students Like You simulator.

• Business & Marketing 30% $71,646 early-career
• Biology & Biomedical 11% $36,083 early-career
• Social Sciences 10% $54,760 early-career
• Engineering 8% $82,387 early-career
• Psychology 8% $38,698 early-career
• Health Professions 6% $85,467 early-career
• Communications 5% $55,394 early-career
• Computer Science & IT 5% $80,140 early-career

Early-career median earnings by major (typically 1–2 years after completion, bachelor's level where available), in today's dollars (CPI-adjusted). Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard field of study. Distinct from the school-wide 10-year median; suppressed for small programs.