Washington College

Overview

Rankings

• #2 Best Biology Colleges in Maryland
• #3 Best Business Colleges in Maryland
• #3 Best Psychology Colleges in Maryland
• #4 Best Communications Colleges in Maryland
• #5 Most Test-Optional-Friendly Colleges
• #6 Best Bachelor's Programs in Maryland
• #6 Best Master's Programs in Maryland
• #7 Best Colleges in Maryland

Academics & Admissions

Is It Hard to Get Into Washington College? Acceptance Rate & Requirements

As a private institution in Chestertown, Maryland, Washington College offers a realistic path to admission, with roughly 57% of applicants receiving an offer. Admitted students typically arrive with an average SAT score near 1,280. The graduation rate is roughly 70%.

Acceptance Rate

57%

Retention Rate

84%

SAT Average

1280

SAT Range

1140–1390

ACT Range

27–31

Full-Time Faculty

80%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$6,768

Student–Faculty Ratio

9:1

Diversity Index

0.51

First-Gen Students

16%

Applicants

2,554

Admitted

1,908

Inside the Admissions Office

School-reported Common Data Set · 2024-25

The acceptance rate tells you how hard Washington College 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

12%

of enrolled freshmen

Submitted ACT

2%

of enrolled freshmen

Cost & Financial Aid

How Much Does It Cost to Attend Washington College? Tuition, Net Price & Aid

Published tuition at Washington College is $55,326, 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 $27,898. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $17,804 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $26,956 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$55,326

Out-of-State

$55,326

Avg Net Price

$27,898

Median Debt

$26,956

Pell Grant Rate

23%

Federal Loan Rate

47%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at Washington College — 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 Washington College Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of Washington College earn a median of $65,518, roughly in line with the national average for college graduates.

6 Years After Entry

$48,763

8 Years

$59,385

10 Years

$65,518

Debt-to-Earnings

0.41x

Earning > $25K

73%

Social Mobility

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

Does Washington College Drive Upward Mobility? Economic Mobility & Low-Income Outcomes

Washington College is a genuine engine of upward mobility. Its mobility rate, the share of students who start in the bottom income quintile and climb to the top, is 1.23%, well above the typical college. Access is narrower: only about 3.4% of students come from the bottom income quintile, typical of more selective, higher-income institutions. Among bottom-quintile students who attend, roughly 36.5% go on to reach the top of the income ladder. The median family income of students sits near $120,900, a snapshot of the campus's socioeconomic mix.

Mobility Rate

1.23%

Bottom 20% → Top 20%

Success Rate

36.5%

If bottom 20% get in

From Bottom 20%

3.4%

Share of students

Parent Median Income

$164,261

today's $ (2015 cohort data)

Social Capital

Data: Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas

How Connected Is Washington College? Social Capital & Cross-Class Networks

Social capital, the web of cross-class friendships that researchers link to long-run upward mobility, runs high at Washington College. Its economic connectedness score is 1.81, 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 8% of students take part in civic and volunteering activity.

Economic Connectedness

1.81

Cross-class friendships

Friending Bias

-0.01

Lower = more inclusive

Volunteering Rate

8.0%

Support Ratio

1.00

Community support

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Federal Grants

$2,050,516

Investment Income

$-42,764

Top Programs

The fields Washington College 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.

• Social Sciences 18% $54,760 early-career
• Business & Marketing 16% $63,028 early-career
• Biology & Biomedical 14% $40,390 early-career
• Psychology 12% $42,687 early-career
• English & Literature 7% $33,335 early-career
• Communications 5%
• Computer Science & IT 2% $74,862 early-career
• Visual & Performing Arts 2%

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.