Wesleyan University
Private College in Middletown, CT. Six-year graduation rate 93%. Median 10-year earnings $73,897.
Students who entered Wesleyan University reach a median of $73,897 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. 93% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Graduates carry a median of $17,000 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.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.23 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 93% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Wesleyan University admits just 16% of applicants, placing it among the most selective undergraduate institutions in the country. The applicant pool is large — 14,389 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. About 35% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. The score bands below rest on the 29% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, 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 | 705–760 | 239 (29%) |
| SAT Math | 710–780 | |
| ACT Composite | 33–35 | 132 (16%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Wesleyan University →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 93% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. First-year retention of 95% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. The 8:1 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. 3,066 undergraduates makes this a mid-sized institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,973 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $23,025 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. The income table below is the number that matters — $4,871 at $0–30k versus $51,140 at $110k+. Grant aid is limited — 43% of students receive any. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 17% 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 · 782 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 | $4,871 |
| $30–48k | $3,604 |
| $48–75k | $6,175 |
| $75–110k | $17,294 |
| $110k+ | $51,140 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 501 of these 2,973 students, totalling $2,574,995 — an average of $5,140 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region) — 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)