Western Connecticut
State University
Public College in Danbury, CT. Six-year graduation rate 52%. Median 10-year earnings $59,115.
Ten years after entry, the median Western Connecticut State University student earns $59,115 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Six-year completion sits at 52%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $24,147, 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
Admission is not the constraint here: 87% of applicants are accepted. 5,910 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. Only 17% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. 2% 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 | 510–580 | 18 (2%) |
| SAT Math | 530–590 | |
| ACT Composite | — | 2 (1%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Western Connecticut State University →Academics
52% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. First-year retention is 73% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. 27% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 38% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,434 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $17,185 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Net price varies modestly by income — $13,507 at $0–30k against $21,318 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 64% of students receive grant aid, averaging $7,957 — common but not automatic. 50% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 690 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 | $13,507 |
| $30–48k | $13,716 |
| $48–75k | $16,697 |
| $75–110k | $18,737 |
| $110k+ | $21,318 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,719 of these 3,434 students, totalling $10,735,961 — an average of $6,245 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Western Connecticut 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)