Want to visit a rainforest? Well, unless you're going to board a plane or jump on a boat for a very long boat ride, the place to go is the state of Washington.
In fact, it's the only place in the continental US that can claim to have a rainforest. There's a reason, after all, Washington is called "The Evergreen State." And unless you've been there before, you'll probably have the same reaction once you get there that Rey did in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
And it's a great place to go to college. Boasting some of the best colleges and universities in the country, Washington really has something for everyone. But you might be wondering if going to college is still worth it. After all, tuition rates seem to get higher and higher every year. That may be true, but did you know that since the Great Recession, the US economy has added 11.6 million jobs, and yet 11.5 million have gone to people with at least some college education? If you're looking for a leg-up in the job market, college is still close to indispensable.
Related: Best Online Colleges in Washington
With more than 40 institutions of higher education (including one that doesn't even have grades!), the state of Washington is a great place for in-state and out-of-state students. No matter your academic or professional interests, you'll be sure to find some great stuff. Want to be an engineer? You might like to check out the floating bridges—Washington has four of the world's five biggest. What about transportation? The state has the largest ferry system in the country. Agriculture? Welcome to the state that leads the nation in crops such as raspberries, hops, spearmint, peas, apples, cherries, and pears. We could go on.
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What are the best colleges in Washington?
Hopefully at this point you're interested. But how did we determine the best colleges in Washington? Our methodology boils down to three central factors: academic quality, student body diversity, and return on investment. Each factor is itself comprised of numerous data points such as test scores of entering freshmen and student-to-faculty ratio. For the return on investment factor, we compare the total cost of attendance against the expected early career salary for graduates. That way, you'll be sure that getting a college education will prepare you for the workforce. All of our data comes from IPEDS, courtesy of the National Center for Education Statistics.
The Top Colleges in Washington
See our rankings methodology page.
