Head-to-head · 35 cross-admits
When applicants got into both, 94% chose UWashington. Side-by-side on admissions, costs, and outcomes — sourced from 35 self-reported decisions and ABA 509 filings.
Choice, not ranking
These are decisions, not opinions. Scholarship offers, location, intended practice, and personal fit are all priced into the split.
Cross-admit decision
Chose UWashington
Median scholarship (chose UWashington)
Median scholarship (chose Seattle)
View all-time (77 cross-admits)
Trend · UWashington's share
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Admissions
Rankings, LSAT/GPA, acceptance & yield 2025 ABA 509
Financial
Sticker price, scholarships, and debt burden 2025 ABA 509
Employment & outcomes
Post-graduation placement and bar passage 2024 ABA Employment
Cross-admit by cycle
How preferences shifted over recent cyclesRelated comparisons
Other popular cross-admit matchups
Overview
About UWashington vs Seattle
Across 35 applicants admitted to both schools and self-reporting on LSD, 94% enrolled at University of Washington and 6% at Seattle University. The split has shifted +2 points across the tracked cycles.
These numbers reflect every factor that goes into a real decision: scholarship offers, geographic preference, intended practice area, and fit. Choosing one school doesn't mean it's "better" — it means the pool of cross-admits, weighing their options, ended up there more often. Pair this with the scholarship distribution and employment outcomes above for full context.
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Detailed comparison narrative
This page compares University of Washington and Seattle University across admissions data, cost of attendance, and employment outcomes — plus cross-admit decision data from 35 applicants admitted to both.
Based on 35 applicants admitted to both schools, 94% chose to attend University of Washington. This cross-admit data reflects real enrollment decisions from verified law school applicants on LSD.Law.
In the U.S. News rankings, University of Washington is ranked #52 compared to #128 — a gap of 76 positions that often correlates with differences in employment outcomes and peer assessment scores.
There is a meaningful difference in admissions competitiveness: University of Washington has a median LSAT of 165 compared to 159, a gap of 6 points. This suggests applicants to University of Washington face a more competitive admissions pool.
University of Washington is significantly more selective, with an acceptance rate of 19.6% compared to Seattle University's 38.9%.
Both schools are located in Washington — University of Washington in Seattle and Seattle University in Seattle — meaning graduates often compete in the same regional legal market.
Employment outcomes differ substantially: University of Washington places 15.8% of graduates into large law firm positions, compared to 2.9% for the other school. This 13 percentage point gap is significant for applicants targeting BigLaw careers.
On cost, Seattle University has lower tuition at - per year compared to $45,927. Combined with employment rates of 90.1% (UWashington) and 87.9% (Seattle), prospective students should weigh the cost-to-outcome ratio carefully.
Among cross-admitted applicants, Seattle University offered a median scholarship of $140,000 compared to $45,000, a difference of $95,000 that may factor into enrollment decisions.