There are eight public universities in the state of Washington. Two of the university campuses are located in urban areas, while six are located in suburban or rural settings. The most well known is the University of Washington, located on three campuses--Seattle, Tacoma and Botthell--which was founded in 1861 as the first public university on the west coast. When Washington became a state in 1889, the university was well established in Seattle -- a sleepy little town of 250. Today, it's the most competitive of the state's public universities, boasting a 58 percent acceptance rate.
Students looking to attend a large, public university can consider Western Washington University, UW-Seattle or Washington State University. Those who prefer a small campus and less rigorous academic experience may want to check out Evergreen State College in Olympia, which is considered one of the country's most environmentally responsible colleges, according to the Princeton Review.
Independent colleges are private colleges without religious affiliation. Contrary to popular belief, they can be highly affordable and have diverse enrollment -- in some cases, even more so than public institutions.
In the state of Washington, students can apply to 17 independent colleges, six of which are located in Seattle. A few of these schools are highly specialized, including The Art Institute of Seattle, Cornish College of the Arts, Northwest Aviation College, Northwest College of Art and Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding. Other independent colleges include Antioch University, Argosy University, Bastyr University, City University of Seattle, DeVry University, Digipen University of Technology, International Academy of Design and Technology, ITT Technical Institute (three campuses), University of Puget Sound, and Whitman College.
Faith-based colleges can be affiliated with many different religions. Although they don't limit enrollment to members of that faith, the colleges are usually organized in agreement with their religious principles. Reviewing the school's mission statement is a good way to discover the college's affiliation.
In the state of Washington, 11 colleges are religiously affiliated. The two largest, Gonzaga University and Seattle University, are Roman Catholic, and the others are Faith Evangelical Seminary, Heritage University, Northwest University, Pacific West University, Saint Martin's University, Seattle Pacific University, Trinity Lutheran College, Walla Walla University, and Whitworth University.
The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), recognizes 34 such colleges in the state. The variety of colleges, ranging from Bates Technical College to Yakima Valley Community College, are more densely located in the northern, Seattle area. In 2010, the institutions educated a record 161,000 full-time students.
The goals of these two-year colleges are:
* Providing transfer degree pathways
* Educating students in career programs to satisfy the state's employment needs
* Offering adult and adult high school completion programs
* Providing eLearning and open enrollment
* Acting as a community partner
Visit the SBCTC website to research specific programs.