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Best College Rankings

Comparison tool

UW vs. UC Irvine vs. UF

Rankings across 8 publishers plus admissions, cost, debt and outcome data for University of Washington, University of California, Irvine, University of Florida. Every figure is sourced and dated.

Side-by-side metric comparison of University of Washington, University of California, Irvine, University of Florida
MetricUWSeattle, WAUC IrvineIrvine, CAUFGainesville, FL
Acceptance rate39.1%28.6%24.2%
SAT middle 50%Not reportedUniversity of Washington-Seattle Campus reports that it neither requires nor recommends admissions test scores, and does not report a score range to the Department of Education.Not reportedUniversity of California-Irvine reports that it neither requires nor recommends admissions test scores, and does not report a score range to the Department of Education.1320–1480
Average net price$14,09114.9% on Pell grants$14,25136.1% on Pell grants$6,54121.7% on Pell grants
Published tuition & fees$12,973 in-state · $43,209 outMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release$15,722 in-state · $49,922 outMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release$6,381 in-state · $28,659 outMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release
6-year graduation rate85.2%86.9%91.1%
First-year retention94.7%94.0%97.7%
Undergraduates on Pell grants14.9%36.1%21.7%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry$78,466$80,735$71,588
Median federal debt at graduation$14,615$15,000$15,000
Student-faculty ratio20:118:116:1
Undergraduate enrollment31,94230,19735,629
Consensus percentile9Lower is better9Lower is better9Lower is better
Methodology sensitivity14 ptsHow far published lists disagree, in percentile points17 ptsHow far published lists disagree, in percentile points15 ptsHow far published lists disagree, in percentile points

Highlighted cells mark the most favourable value in that row where a direction is meaningful. No highlight appears for metrics like enrollment or SAT range, where “better” depends entirely on what you want.

Rankings across all sources

“Not ranked by this source” means that publisher’s list does not include the school — not missing data and not a poor rank.

SourceUWUC IrvineUF
US News#42 of 436National universitiesNational Universities · 2026#32 of 436National universitiesNational Universities · 2026#30 of 436National universitiesNational Universities · 2026
Forbes#50 of 500Top colleges (Forbes)America's Top Colleges · 2026#31 of 500Top colleges (Forbes)America's Top Colleges · 2026#30 of 500Top colleges (Forbes)America's Top Colleges · 2026
Washington MonthlyNot ranked by this source#139 of 1,504Tuition & tax value (WM)Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars · 2026#113 of 1,504Tuition & tax value (WM)Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars · 2026
WSJ#82 of 500U.S. colleges (WSJ)Best Colleges in the U.S. · 2026#31 of 500U.S. colleges (WSJ)Best Colleges in the U.S. · 2026#83 of 500U.S. colleges (WSJ)Best Colleges in the U.S. · 2026
Niche#57 of 2,605Overall (Niche)Best Colleges (Overall) · 2026#69 of 2,605Overall (Niche)Best Colleges (Overall) · 2026#31 of 2,605Overall (Niche)Best Colleges (Overall) · 2026
MoneyListedListedListed
Princeton ReviewListedListedListed
QS#81 of 1,504World (QS)World University Rankings · 2026#293 of 1,504World (QS)World University Rankings · 2026#213 of 1,504World (QS)World University Rankings · 2026

What each school is for

University of Washington

Students comparing University of Washington on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

Biggest caution

This school may not appear on every publisher list we track; an empty rankings table means no tracked publisher ranked it, not missing federal data.

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University of California, Irvine

Students comparing University of California, Irvine on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

Biggest caution

This school may not appear on every publisher list we track; an empty rankings table means no tracked publisher ranked it, not missing federal data.

Full profile

University of Florida

Students comparing University of Florida on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

Biggest caution

This school may not appear on every publisher list we track; an empty rankings table means no tracked publisher ranked it, not missing federal data.

Full profile