George Washington University Overview
George Washington University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Washington, District of Columbia. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life.
What Is George Washington University Known For?
- Students at GWU have an easier time paying back their loans. The school's student loan default rate is only 2%, compared to the national rate of 10.1%.
- Although it may not be available for every major, the doctor's degree is the highest award a student can attain at GWU.
- In 2017-2018, 51% of the faculty were full-time.
- Students who graduate from GWU with a bachelor's degree make about $69,600 a year. That's 71% more than those who graduate from other schools.
- It takes the average GWU student 4.1 years to graduate. This is pretty good when compared to the national rate of 4.4 years.
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George Washington University Rankings
According to our 2021 analysis, GWU is ranked #146 out of 2,320 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation. GWU also holds the #2 spot on the Best Colleges in District of Columbia ranking.
Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.
GWU has also been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.
Rank | Ranking Name | Share |
---|---|---|
#13 | Best Associate’s Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#13 | Most Popular Online Graduate Certificate Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#36 | Most Popular Online Doctor’s Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#44 | Best Graduate Certificate Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#71 | Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#71 | Best Master’s Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
Program Level Awards
These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at GWU.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards GWU has earned from around the web.
Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
---|---|---|
#7 | Best Colleges for Communication & Journalism | College Factual |
#10 | Best Colleges for Social Sciences | College Factual |
#12 | Best Colleges for Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting | College Factual |
#24 | Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing | College Factual |
#38 | Best Colleges for Health Professions | College Factual |
#65 | Best Nursing Schools | Nursing Degree Search |
Where Is George Washington University?

Contact details for GWU are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | 1918 F Street, Nw, Washington, DC 20052 |
Phone: | 202-994-1000 |
Website: | https://www.gwu.edu |
Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/georgewashingtonuniversity |
Twitter: | http://twitter.com/#!/GWtweets |
How Do I Get Into GWU?
You can apply to GWU online at: https://undergraduate.admissions.gwu.edu/apply-gw
Admission Requirements for GWU
Submission | Required? |
---|---|
High School GPA | recommended |
High School Rank | neither required nor recommended |
High School Transcript | required |
College Prep Program | required |
Recommendations | required |
SAT or ACT Scores | considered but not required |
TOEFL | required |
How Hard Is It To Get Into GWU?
Approximately 36% of accepted students are men and 64% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 39%, and the acceptance rate for women is 43%.
Average Test Scores
About 46% of students accepted to GWU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 640 and 720. Math scores were between 640 and 720.
Can I Afford George Washington University?
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.
Student Loan Debt
It's not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At GWU, approximately 43% of students took out student loans averaging $7,383 a year. That adds up to $29,532 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at GWU is 1.9%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.
George Washington University Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are also 15,626 graduate students at the school.
Gender Diversity
Of the 11,334 full-time undergraduates at GWU, 38% are male and 62% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity
The racial-ethnic breakdown of George Washington University students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 1,241 |
Black or African American | 767 |
Hispanic or Latino | 1,132 |
White | 5,784 |
International Students | 1,363 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 1,047 |
Geographic Diversity
District of Columbia students aren't the only ones who study at George Washington University. At this time, 49 states are represented by the student population at the school.
Over 133 countries are represented at GWU. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, India, and South Korea.
Online Learning at George Washington University
The following chart shows how the online learning population at GWU has changed over the last few years.

This school is the most popular in District of Columbia for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2017-2018.
Online Growth Rankings of GWU
The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at George Washington University was 16.8%. This is the #1,008 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at GWU regardless of major.
The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of GWU majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.
The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at GWU ranks compared to all other partially online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at GWU.
When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.
George Washington University Undergraduate Concentrations
The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.
References
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
- College Factual
- National Center for Education Statistics
- Image Credit: By Michiel1972 under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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