Western Colorado University
Public College in Gunnison, CO. Six-year graduation rate 51%. Median 10-year earnings $46,833.
Ten years after entry, the median Western Colorado University student earns $46,833 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 51%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $20,250, 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
- ! Mobility score 0.8 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
With an acceptance rate of 100%, Western Colorado University takes nearly everyone who applies. 3,119 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. Yield is low at 12%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. 11% 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 | 608–683 | 36 (11%) |
| SAT Math | 555–670 | |
| ACT Composite | 22–26 | 27 (8%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Western Colorado University →Academics
51% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Retention of 72% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. A 17:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars. As a public four-year university, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,653 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $17,711 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. The income table below is the number that matters — $11,490 at $0–30k versus $21,396 at $110k+. 94% of students get grant aid averaging $9,574, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. About 42% 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 · 420 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 | $11,490 |
| $30–48k | $10,868 |
| $48–75k | $13,908 |
| $75–110k | $16,928 |
| $110k+ | $21,396 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 702 of these 1,653 students, totalling $5,841,765 — an average of $8,322 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Gunnison 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)