Top School for Student Experience

From a wide variety of student clubs and a strong student support system to an energetic, welcoming campus in the middle of a vibrant city, Seattle University offers a fantastic environment for students to thrive. That reputation was recognized recently when SU was rated the top university in Washington state for Student Experience by the Wall Street Journal’s “2026 Best Colleges in America.”

The rankings—based on independent surveys of current college students and recent graduates—took in consideration a university’s facilities, community, social life and diversity.

Seattle University’s student experience encourages and supports both undergraduate and graduate students to care for the whole person in the Jesuit tradition. This includes:

• Physical: Seattle University Recreation offers facilities, programs and services for students to find fun, healthy opportunities to care for their physical health.
• Emotional: Seattle University’s Health and Wellness programs include Counseling and Psychological Services and mental health support along with a Student Health Center.
• Intellectual: Seattle University has a rigorous academic reputation led by highly regarded faculty teaching nationally ranked programs with strong ties to top employers, industries and community organizations.
• Spiritual: While Seattle University is one of the nation’s top Catholic, Jesuit universities, its interfaith programming supports the wide array of beliefs found both in both our local and global communities.

The Wall Street Journal rankings come on the heels of Seattle University being recognized for both student experience and academics by the Niche “Best College” rankings and the U.S. News & World Report “Best Colleges” rankings released earlier this year.

Niche ranked SU as the top private university in Washington state and #16 among Catholic universities nationally. Additionally, it placed Seattle University in the Top 100 for Best College Location (#29), Best Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (#31), Best College for Nursing (#41), Best College for Criminal Justice (#42) and Best College for Art (#98).

For the second consecutive year, U.S. News ranked SU #1 for best value in the state among national universities and #1 among private universities in Washington for social mobility for the second consecutive year. Four Albers School of Business and Economics programs—Analytics (#19), Marketing (#30), Accounting (#30) and Finance (#34)—along with Seattle University’s Engineering program (#38) were ranked in the Top 40 nationally. Analytics was highest rated in Washington state and Marketing was #1 among private universities, while Finance and Engineering were both #2 in the state.