Pennsylvania State
University-Penn State Wilkes-Barre
Public College in Dallas, PA. Six-year graduation rate 20%. Median 10-year earnings $63,435.
Students who entered Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Wilkes-Barre reach a median of $63,435 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. Only 21% finish within six years, so roughly four in five students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Graduates carry a median of $25,000 in debt — in line with the national norm.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 20% — below national average
Admissions
With an acceptance rate of 97%, Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Wilkes-Barre takes nearly everyone who applies. With 631 applicants, admissions statistics here move a lot on small changes. Yield is low at 15%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. The score bands below rest on the 16% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 550–680 | 15 (16%) |
| SAT Math | 540–650 | |
| ACT Composite | — | 1 (1%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Academics
Only 21% finish within six years, so roughly four in five students leave without the credential. First-year retention of 81% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. 51% of students transfer out, which reframes what the graduation rate above is measuring. The 10:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 338 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $16,621 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $9,795 at the $0–30k band to $22,027 at $110k+. 79% of students receive grant aid, averaging $10,527 — common but not automatic. Most students borrow — 56% take federal loans to cover the gap.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 90 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $9,795 |
| $30–48k | $11,760 |
| $48–75k | $15,570 |
| $75–110k | $17,530 |
| $110k+ | $22,027 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 189 of these 338 students, totalling $1,156,953 — an average of $6,121 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Luzerne County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)