Wake Forest University
Private Research University in Winston-Salem, NC. Six-year graduation rate 89%. Median 10-year earnings $78,158.
Ten-year median earnings of $78,158 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. 89% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Graduates carry a median of $21,500 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 89% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.7 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 22% means admission is the exception — plan accordingly. With 18,727 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. 36% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. 22% 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 | 700–750 | 325 (22%) |
| SAT Math | 710–770 | |
| ACT Composite | 32–34 | 376 (26%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Wake Forest University →Academics
89% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. Retention is strong at 93%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. The 10:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. 5,471 undergraduates makes this a mid-sized institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 5,471 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $24,401 annually once grants are applied. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $6,525 while those at $110k+ pay $58,081. Grant aid is limited — 41% of students receive any. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 14% 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 · 1,386 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 | $6,525 |
| $30–48k | $6,331 |
| $48–75k | $7,647 |
| $75–110k | $12,771 |
| $110k+ | $58,081 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 765 of these 5,471 students, totalling $4,653,799 — an average of $6,083 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Forsyth 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)