West Chester
University of Pennsylvania
Public Research University in West Chester, PA. Six-year graduation rate 71%. Median 10-year earnings $61,258.
A decade after enrolling, the median West Chester University of Pennsylvania student earns $61,258 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. The six-year graduation rate of 71% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $23,500, 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
West Chester University of Pennsylvania accepts 78% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. With 17,193 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. Yield sits at 22% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. 14% 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 | 560–650 | 415 (14%) |
| SAT Math | 540–620 | |
| ACT Composite | 24–28 | 28 (1%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at West Chester University of Pennsylvania →Academics
A 71% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. 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 17% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Retention drops to 67% 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 14,067 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $22,546 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $17,018 while those at $110k+ pay $27,160. 62% of students receive grant aid, averaging $6,111 — common but not automatic. Borrowing is widespread: 55% take federal loans.
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 · 3,066 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 | $17,018 |
| $30–48k | $17,414 |
| $48–75k | $20,417 |
| $75–110k | $24,715 |
| $110k+ | $27,160 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 7,789 of these 14,067 students, totalling $48,950,421 — an average of $6,285 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Chester 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)