I am not going to tell you whether it is the right university for your family. No one can tell you that from the outside. But I can walk you through what the United States government knows about this institution, number by number, and help you understand what each one means for a real family. By the end of this article, you will know one piece of the puzzle well. Only you have the other two pieces—what your child wants and what your family can afford.
What Kind of School It Is, and Where It Stands
Walla Walla University is a private nonprofit four-year institution located in College Place, Washington, in Walla Walla County. The census classification places it in a suburban setting: within the urbanized area of the Walla Walla metropolitan area, but outside that city's center. If your family lives nearby and your child is considering living at home, I recommend something simple: drive the route on a weekday at the exact time the classes would take place. A map almost never tells the whole truth about actual traffic.
The Carnegie system, which classifies the country's universities according to what they do, describes it as a master's university with small programs: a small, highly residential four-year school. "Highly residential" has a precise definition: when that information was collected, at least half of the degree-seeking undergraduate students lived in housing owned, controlled, or affiliated with the institution, and at least 80 out of every 100 attended full time. That tells you something real about the culture of the place, but it does not tell you the price of room and board. Those costs are listed separately, and I show them to you later.
IPEDS—the federal system to which all universities report their data—lists it as an institution that awards degrees from the bachelor's through the doctoral level. That is an institutional fact, not a promise that the specific major your child is interested in extends through that level. If the connection between undergraduate and graduate study in that field matters, ask about it directly.
Walla Walla University is not listed as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. These are three distinct designations, with different histories, and among the 3,012 universities in this national directory, 138 have at least one of the three. Walla Walla's absence from that list says nothing about which communities it serves today or how your child would feel on that campus. Ask about that directly: what cultural centers exist, which student organizations are active, and better yet, speak with someone who already studies there.
Who Its Students Are, and How Large the School Is
In the fall of 2023, 23 out of every 100 undergraduate students were reported as Hispanic or Latino. They are not the majority, but neither are they isolated cases. Compared with 131 private four-year open-admission schools that report this information, Walla Walla ranks above the midpoint of the group but below the top quartile. Keep in mind that this comparison does not account for the state where the school is located, and that matters here: being Latino in the Northwest is not the same as being Latino in other regions with a larger Hispanic presence.
The undergraduate population is divided almost evenly between men and women: 48 out of every 100 are women. Adult students ages 25 to 64 are a clear minority: only 5 out of every 100. IPEDS does not report where entering students came from—which states or which countries—for this school in this reporting cycle. That information simply is not available.
As for size: there are 1,397 students in total, of whom 1,266 are undergraduates and 131 are graduate students. It is a medium-sized school, one of the most common sizes among its peers. Neither enormous nor tiny. And here is something worth remembering: being large does not mean having more options, and being small does not mean more attention for your child. What matters is the specific major your child is interested in, not the size of the entire school.
How the Academic Year Works, and How Broad the Offerings Are
Walla Walla operates on the quarter system: the year is divided into three terms of approximately 12 weeks each, with the possibility of a fourth term in the summer. This matters a great deal if your child ever considers transferring: quarter calendars do not always align with other universities' semester calendars, and credits do not always transfer cleanly from one system to another. If transferring is a real possibility, verify in writing with both institutions how the credits would be recognized.
The institution accepts credit for AP exams and military training. It did not indicate that it accepts credit for life experience. Accepting AP credit does not mean that every exam counts: ask for the exact equivalency table—what score is required, how many credits are awarded, and whether those credits apply to your child's major—before assuming that it will save time or money. It also enrolls high school students in college courses for credit through a formal dual-enrollment program.
In the most recent year reported, the university awarded 366 bachelor's degrees across 22 different fields of study. The largest field was health professions, accounting for 20 out of every 100 degrees awarded that year, but no other field accounts for the bulk of them. The offerings are broad: compared with 130 similar schools, Walla Walla ranks in the quartile with the most fields of study represented in its report. Be careful: 22 active fields are not 22 specific majors, nor do they guarantee that the one your child wants is among them. Verify the specific program.
The official ratio of students to instructional staff, with both measured in full-time equivalents, is 13 to 1. Compared with similar schools, it falls below the median: it is a low aggregate ratio. But this does not tell you the actual size of a classroom or how many instructors are available in each department. It is an institution-wide number, not a picture of your child's classroom.
The institution also reports structured academic pathways: study abroad, developmental education with and without credit, and preparation and certification programs for students seeking to become teachers, including state approval for initial teacher certification.
How Admission Works, and What "Open Admission" Means
Here is something that completely changes how the rest of the admissions section should be read: Walla Walla University reported to IPEDS that it has an open-admission policy for all or most of its first-time undergraduate students. The application fee is $0.
Open admission does not mean guaranteed admission. It means that the institution's general policy does not screen for selectivity as a competitive university would. But your child still has to meet eligibility requirements, and a specific program within the university may have its own requirements. That is precisely why, under open admission, IPEDS does not require this school to report how many students applied and how many were admitted, a post-admission enrollment rate, or a policy on the use of the SAT or ACT. Those blank fields do not indicate a lack of transparency by the university: under open admission, those questions do not apply. If any of that matters to you—how a test score is used for a scholarship, for example—ask the school directly.
There is one firm number involving transfers that deserves your attention. Among the cohort that entered in 2017 as first-time, full-time bachelor's-degree-seeking students, 25 out of every 100 transferred to another school without completing their degree here. That is a large share, and the report does not say why they left. It also does not say they did poorly: it counts only the change, not the outcome. It is worth keeping this in mind when we later examine graduation rates, because a student who transfers does not count as a graduate of this school, even if that student completes the degree elsewhere.
The Published Price, Without Embellishment
At Walla Walla University, among 35 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $17,833. Among 22 students in the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $21,728; among 65 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $28,840. For dependent students, the band includes their parents' income and their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (35 students) and the highest-income band (65 students) is $11,007. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $26,001.
$17,833 was the average net price for the lowest-income families in academic year 2022-23. That does not mean it is what your family will pay. It helps you determine whether it is worth requesting the financial aid offer.
None of these figures is a price quote for your child. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average for students receiving grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The figure that matters is the financial aid offer you receive. In the meantime, use the net price calculator on the school's website.
The Aid Students Receive, and the Debt They Leave With
Almost everyone receives something: 94 out of every 100 degree- or certificate-seeking students received some form of grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid. Among those who received it, the year's average was $16,718. Compared with similar schools, Walla Walla falls in the quartile where grant or scholarship aid reaches the largest share of students.
But the federal Pell Grant—the aid reserved for low-income families with demonstrated financial need—reached fewer people: 26 out of every 100. That means that much of the aid students do receive comes from other sources: institutional or state grants and scholarships, or federal programs other than Pell. The report does not make it possible to determine exactly which ones. It is worth asking directly which grant and scholarship programs exist beyond Pell and what each one requires.
And here is the number I most want you to understand clearly, because it directly affects the family's finances: in school year 2022-23, 49 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal student loan. That is almost half. Among those who borrowed, the annual average was $7,012. If your child borrowed a similar amount in each of the four years that most plans last, the total would reach about $28,048 by graduation, not including interest.
That number does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign for, bank debt, or credit cards. And it is not information about your child: it is about other families who came through here before. The amount your child would need to borrow depends on the individual financial aid offer. Wait for that offer before ruling out the school and before committing to it. But calculate the full amount—the four years, not just the first—before signing the first loan application. That decision should be made with a calculator in hand, not at the end of the road.
The institution also reports offering an installment tuition payment plan as an option for managing costs throughout the year.
Campus Life, Athletics, and Available Support
Walla Walla University has institution-owned housing with reported capacity for 969 students on or off campus. It does not require all first-time students to live there, but that does not mean no program has that requirement: ask about your child's specific situation. It also offers meal plans, with a fixed number of meals per week in its largest plan. Separate room and board charges total, based on typical charges for the 2023-24 year, $5,031 for housing and $5,385 for food. The existence of the option does not guarantee an available bed or a fixed price: request the current rate, application deadline, and whether space is guaranteed or there is a waiting list in writing.
The university did not indicate any ROTC opportunities in its report. Of the 1,786 four-year institutions in this guide, 926 did indicate them; this one did not. That does not prove that no related pathway exists nearby, only that none was reported in that field. If it is important to your family, ask admissions directly before ruling it out.
It does compete in intercollegiate athletics and is affiliated with the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics), with reported participation in basketball and cross-country or track and field. This information does not tell you how many roster spots are available or whether the sport your child is interested in offers scholarships. Ask the coach directly and in writing.
As for learning format, the school offers distance education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and it reports having at least one program in which all required courses can be taken remotely. But in the actual fall enrollment count, 0 out of every 100 undergraduate students took their entire course load remotely. All took at least one in-person class. If distance education is relevant to your family, confirm in writing whether your child's specific major can be completed entirely through that format.
The library has paid staff, annual expenditures of $100,000 or more, physical and digital collections, and interlibrary loan. The general support services reported by the institution include combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services upon program completion, participation in the Yellow Ribbon program for veterans, a dedicated point of contact for veterans and military families, and a student disability services webpage. The fact that these services are reported says nothing about how good they are or how often they are used. You can find that out by talking with someone who already uses them.
Who Stays, Who Graduates, and How Long It Takes
Here we come to the part that almost always matters most to a family: do the people who enroll finish?
Of the cohort that entered in the fall of 2022 as first-time, full-time bachelor's-degree-seeking students, 84 out of every 100 were still enrolled here or had already completed their program one year later. Compared with similar schools, Walla Walla ranks near the top of the group. It is a strong sign: more stayed than left. But the figure does not distinguish between those who were still studying and those who had already graduated unusually quickly, and it does not say what happened to the other 16 out of every 100. Not returning does not always mean dropping out: someone who transferred and continues studying elsewhere is counted the same as someone who left higher education entirely.
Now for graduation, where we need to proceed carefully because the numbers tell a layered story.
Of the 328 students who entered in 2017 as first-time, full-time bachelor's-degree-seeking students, 63 out of every 100 had graduated here within six years. At four years, the figure was only 40 out of every 100—23 points lower. And four years is exactly the timeframe most families use in their budgets when calculating the full cost of college.
Looking at those 328 students in greater detail: 205 graduated here with bachelor's degrees, 5 completed a shorter program here, 83 transferred without completing a program here (the number we already saw in admissions), 6 were still enrolled without having completed a program, and 29 fell into the "no longer enrolled" category, which does not explain the reason. The gap between four and six years does not tell you how many semesters each person attended or how much that additional time cost. Before committing to a budget of exactly four years, ask in writing how long students take on average to complete the program your child is interested in and how its required courses are scheduled. A fifth year, if it comes, also has to be paid for.
There is also a third view, at eight years, involving a different cohort—493 students who entered between July 2015 and June 2016, combining full-time and part-time students: 68 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school as of August 2023. Among Pell Grant recipients, the figure was 66 out of every 100—just 3 points below the group that did not receive Pell Grants. Compared with 126 similar schools, Walla Walla ranks in the top quartile. For 7 out of every 100, enrollment status was unknown: that does not mean they had dropped out, only that the report could not determine where they were.
What You Already Know, and What Only You Can Find Out
You have now reviewed what the federal government knows about Walla Walla University: its size, its calendar, its published price, what other families actually pay according to their income, how many students stay, how many transfer, how many graduate, and how long it takes. It is a real, verified piece of the map.
But it is only one piece. What your child wants to study, how far away your child is willing to live, and how well your child's learning style fits a quarter calendar are things only your child knows, and your role is to listen carefully, not to decide on your child's behalf.
If you are just beginning to consider this school, request the program catalog and ask directly about the major your child is interested in. If the decision is further along, complete the FAFSA, request the financial aid offer in writing, and use the net price calculator before comparing this university with any other. If debt concerns you, sit down with your child and calculate the full four years together, not just the first.
You now know one of the pieces you need to make a decision well. Combine it with what your child wants, what your child has built so far, and what your family can afford. The plan comes from that combination, not from a single number.
Source note: The information in this article comes from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and the United States Department of Education, with data corresponding primarily to the 2022-23 and 2023-24 reporting cycles. Best College Aid does not represent Walla Walla University or any agency of the federal government; this article organizes and explains public data to help families understand it.