Wayne State University
Public Research University in Detroit, MI. Six-year graduation rate 58%. Median 10-year earnings $53,493.
Ten years after entry, the median Wayne State University student earns $53,493 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. 58% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Median debt at graduation is $21,250, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 2.4% 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
81% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. 16,981 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. Yield sits at 22% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 40% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, and test-optional applicants are not represented in them.
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 | 540–640 | 1,239 (40%) |
| SAT Math | 520–630 | |
| ACT Composite | 23–29 | 77 (3%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Wayne State University →Academics
58% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 83% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. Transfer-out runs to 21% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Retention drops to 43% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 15,675 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $14,416 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. The income table below is the number that matters — $11,090 at $0–30k versus $19,862 at $110k+. 80% of students receive grant aid, averaging $10,685 — common but not automatic. About 39% 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 · 2,888 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 | $11,090 |
| $30–48k | $10,721 |
| $48–75k | $12,068 |
| $75–110k | $14,828 |
| $110k+ | $19,862 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 6,069 of these 15,675 students, totalling $42,170,218 — an average of $6,948 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Wayne 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)