University of Oregon vs. University of Washington

Washington is considerably harder to crack. UW admitted about 41.7% of applicants last cycle against roughly 87.4% at Oregon, so the Ducks let in more than twice the share. About 29% of UW's first-years come from out of state and 49% of Oregon's do, but Seattle gets tighter for non-residents, and direct-admit majors like UW computer science run far below that overall 41.7%.

Neither one requires the SAT or ACT, but they treat scores oppositely. UW goes test-free and ignores the SAT and ACT entirely, so don't bother sending them. Oregon stays test-optional and will read scores you do send: among Oregon enrollees who submitted, the middle 50% landed at 1050–1320 on the SAT and 22–29 on the ACT. Course rigor and academic GPA drive both reads, with admitted averages near 3.84 at UW and 3.73 at Oregon.

For computer science, Washington wins. Computing is UW's most popular field at roughly 13% of bachelor's degrees, and Seattle drops students into a thick cluster of tech employers. Oregon spreads its degrees elsewhere, leading with the social sciences and business (each about 16%) then communication and journalism (about 13%), so its strengths lean toward journalism, business, and the arts rather than a computing-first path.

Sticker prices land close for out-of-state students, with UW near $44,640 in tuition and fees and Oregon near $47,466, though UW does more with aid. UW meets about 74% of demonstrated need and averages a package near $22,538, while Oregon covers about 54% of need at roughly $17,082. The Duck Tuition Guarantee softens Oregon's higher sticker by locking each entering cohort's tuition and fees for five years. In-state, Oregon residents pay about $17,475 and Washington residents about $13,406.

On size, Washington dwarfs Oregon, enrolling about 40,996 undergraduates to Oregon's 20,710, roughly double. UW also holds onto and graduates more of them, posting a 95% first-year retention rate and an 85% six-year graduation rate against Oregon's 86% retention and 71% graduation. Oregon does run more residential, housing about 94% of first-years on campus versus roughly 70% at UW.

Seattle anchors the UW experience: a big-city campus where computing, the sciences, and engineering lead and most students move off campus after freshman year. Eugene keeps Oregon tighter as a college town, where about 94% of first-years live on campus and Greek life shows up more (about 19% of men in fraternities and 18% of women in sororities, against 6% and 13% at UW). UW gives you an urban research powerhouse where Oregon gives you a smaller, more residential community.