Dr. Jack Kahn President | Shoreline Community College
Dr. Jack Kahn President | Shoreline Community College
Of the 34 institutions in the county, eight provided detailed enrollment data at the time, including Seattle University, DigiPen Institute of Technology and Northwest University.
At least 71,105 people applied to King County colleges in the 2022-23 school year.
NCES data shows that among them, around 125,663 students enrolled in the universities, including 102,541 in undergraduate and 23,122 in graduate programs. In total 5.5% of undergraduates transferred from another college or university.
The reported undergraduate student body is comprised mostly of white (34.3%) and Asian (19.8%) students.
Among the institutions that provided disclosed enrollment data, University of Washington-Seattle Campus stood out with the largest enrollment at the time, welcoming 52,319 students.
U.S. college enrollment has been in a downward trend since peaking at around 18.1 million students in 2010. Recent increases offered some relief, but experts project a steeper decline in 2025.
This decline is likely due to two main factors. First, the pool of young adults is shrinking as birth rates have fallen nearly 23% between 2007 and 2022. Second, the rising cost of higher education, including skyrocketing student loan debt. A 2023 Wall Street Journal report shows that more than half of Americans think a four-year degree is not worth the cost.
NCES shows that enrollment data was not available for five institutions in King County, including Golden Gate University-Seattle, The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology and Shoreline Community College - CNC Machinists Program , Georgetown SSC.
Some educational data is based on estimates. Shifting demographics among student populations can sometimes result in gender totals which do not equal 100%.
| Institution | # of Applicants | # of Admitted Students | Total Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antioch University-Seattle | -- | -- | 799 |
| Green River College | -- | -- | 6,252 |
| Northwest University-Center for Online and Extended Education | -- | -- | 1,222 |
| Academy of Interactive Entertainment | 124 | 99 | 65 |
| Seattle Central College | -- | -- | 4,476 |
| Pima Medical Institute-Seattle | -- | -- | 474 |
| DigiPen Institute of Technology | 892 | 589 | 1,124 |
| City University of Seattle | -- | -- | 2,095 |
| North Seattle College | -- | -- | 4,675 |
| Bastyr University | -- | -- | 728 |
| Renton Technical College | -- | -- | 3,072 |
| South Seattle College | -- | -- | 4,901 |
| Divers Institute of Technology | -- | -- | 231 |
| Seattle Institute of East Asian Medicine | -- | -- | -- |
| Bellevue College | -- | -- | 10,617 |
| Highline College | -- | -- | 4,684 |
| Cornish College of the Arts | 852 | 605 | 443 |
| Seattle Film Institute | -- | -- | 100 |
| Lake Washington Institute of Technology | -- | -- | 3,150 |
| Seattle University | 7,934 | 6,744 | 7,121 |
| The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology | -- | -- | -- |
| Northwest University | 383 | 360 | 1,014 |
| Toni & Guy Hairdressing Academy-Shoreline | -- | -- | 88 |
| Seattle Pacific University | 3,895 | 3,544 | 3,118 |
| Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute Seattle | -- | -- | 137 |
| KaiStar | -- | -- | 210 |
| Golden Gate University-Seattle | -- | -- | -- |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 52,488 | 25,194 | 52,319 |
| Cascadia College | -- | -- | 1,844 |
| Pima Medical Institute-Renton | -- | -- | 551 |
| Shoreline Community College | -- | -- | 4,418 |
| University of Washington-Bothell Campus | 4,537 | 3,993 | 5,735 |
| Shoreline Community College - Dental Hygiene | -- | -- | -- |
| Shoreline Community College - CNC Machinists Program , Georgetown SSC | -- | -- | -- |
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