Wichita State University
Public Research University in Wichita, KS. Six-year graduation rate 51%. Median 10-year earnings $51,532.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $51,532 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 51%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Median debt at graduation is $20,500, 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
With an acceptance rate of 94%, Wichita State University takes nearly everyone who applies. The applicant pool runs to 9,916, typical for a school of this reach. Yield sits at 20% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. 6% 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 | 470–610 | 105 (6%) |
| SAT Math | 435–630 | |
| ACT Composite | 17–25 | 1,279 (68%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Wichita State University →Academics
51% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Retention of 69% 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 26% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 37% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 10,493 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $14,228 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $9,734 while those at $110k+ pay $19,184. About 71% get grants averaging $7,745, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 39% 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 · 1,723 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 | $9,734 |
| $30–48k | $9,696 |
| $48–75k | $13,564 |
| $75–110k | $16,893 |
| $110k+ | $19,184 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 4,072 of these 10,493 students, totalling $30,577,582 — an average of $7,509 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Sedgwick 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)