University of
Virginia's College at Wise
Public College in Wise, VA. Six-year graduation rate 47%. Median 10-year earnings $45,325.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $45,325 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 47%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $16,750, neither a bargain nor a burden. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 2.5% of students move from the bottom income quintile to the top.
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
Admissions
University of Virginia's College at Wise admits 29% of applicants and is genuinely selective — roughly three in four applicants are turned away. The applicant pool runs to 6,581, typical for a school of this reach. Only 15% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. 10% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
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 | 520–580 | 29 (10%) |
| SAT Math | 425–540 | |
| ACT Composite | 18–22 | 24 (8%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Virginia's College at Wise →Academics
Completion is middling: 47% finish inside six years. Retention of 72% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. The 14:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. As a public four-year university, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,146 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $14,378 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price varies modestly by income — $8,891 at $0–30k against $16,176 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Most students get help: 100% receive grants worth $9,614 on average. 38% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 313 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 | $8,891 |
| $30–48k | $7,668 |
| $48–75k | $7,455 |
| $75–110k | $8,813 |
| $110k+ | $16,176 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 436 of these 1,146 students, totalling $2,616,193 — an average of $6,000 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Wise 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)