Warren Wilson College
Private College in Swannanoa, NC. Six-year graduation rate 42%. Median 10-year earnings $36,260.
Ten-year median earnings of $36,260 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. 42% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. 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
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.69 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Mobility score 0.6 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 71% puts Warren Wilson College on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. The applicant pool is small at 1,361, which makes year-over-year comparisons unreliable. A 18% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class. 6% of enrolled first-years submitted an ACT 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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | 25–29 | 10 (6%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Warren Wilson College →Academics
42% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Retention of 71% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. The 12:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 720 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $26,084 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. The income table below is the number that matters — $13,566 at $0–30k versus $27,982 at $110k+. 100% of students get grant aid averaging $30,567, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Federal borrowing reaches 54% 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 · 196 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 | $13,566 |
| $30–48k | $17,514 |
| $48–75k | $21,046 |
| $75–110k | $25,834 |
| $110k+ | $27,982 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 392 of these 720 students, totalling $2,437,663 — an average of $6,219 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Buncombe 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)