University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Public Research University in Milwaukee, WI. Six-year graduation rate 53%. Median 10-year earnings $54,990.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $54,990 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 53%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $23,000, neither a bargain nor a burden.
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
With an acceptance rate of 91%, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee takes nearly everyone who applies. With 16,079 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. 24% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. The score bands below cover the middle 50% of the enrolled students who submitted a score — not the whole class, 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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | 18–25 | 2,278 (66%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 53%, meaning about one in two students who enroll leave without finishing. Retention of 73% 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 part-time picture is harder: 27% return, against 73% full-time. A 17:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 16,762 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $16,263 annually once grants are applied. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $10,329 while those at $110k+ pay $21,477. About 72% get grants averaging $7,046, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. About 44% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 3,305 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 | $10,329 |
| $30–48k | $10,709 |
| $48–75k | $12,344 |
| $75–110k | $19,315 |
| $110k+ | $21,477 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 7,453 of these 16,762 students, totalling $47,434,370 — an average of $6,364 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Milwaukee 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)