Western Carolina University
Public College in Cullowhee, NC. Six-year graduation rate 60%. Median 10-year earnings $49,458.
Ten years after entry, the median Western Carolina University student earns $49,458 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 60%, meaning about two in five students who start do not finish. Median debt at graduation is $21,868, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
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
Western Carolina University accepts 82% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. 19,742 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. Yield is low at 13%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. The score bands below rest on the 5% 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 | 560–660 | 110 (5%) |
| SAT Math | 520–610 | |
| ACT Composite | 19–25 | 393 (19%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Western Carolina University →Academics
Completion is middling: 60% finish inside six years. 79% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in five are gone before sophomore year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. Transfer-out runs to 27% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Retention drops to 62% 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 9,867 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $13,767 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $8,816 at the $0–30k band to $17,992 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 66% of students at an average of $6,285. About 45% 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 · 2,082 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 | $8,816 |
| $30–48k | $10,012 |
| $48–75k | $12,605 |
| $75–110k | $17,060 |
| $110k+ | $17,992 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 4,421 of these 9,867 students, totalling $24,840,766 — an average of $5,619 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Jackson 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)