University of Wisconsin-Madison
Public Research University in Madison, WI. Six-year graduation rate 90%. Median 10-year earnings $73,792.
Ten-year median earnings of $73,792 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. Completion is a strength: 90% of students finish within six years. Graduates carry a median of $20,484 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.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.28 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 90% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Selectivity is real here: only 45% of applicants are offered a place. 65,894 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. Yield sits at 29% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. 15% 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 | 670–740 | 1,241 (15%) |
| SAT Math | 710–780 | |
| ACT Composite | 29–33 | 2,498 (29%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Wisconsin-Madison →Academics
A 90% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. 96% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 81% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. The student-faculty ratio is 18:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major. 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 35,665 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $14,235 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $4,200 while those at $110k+ pay $27,292. Grant aid is limited — 45% of students receive any. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 21% of students.
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 · 7,937 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 | $4,200 |
| $30–48k | $4,101 |
| $48–75k | $8,134 |
| $75–110k | $17,763 |
| $110k+ | $27,292 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 7,458 of these 35,665 students, totalling $46,305,355 — an average of $6,209 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Dane 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)