Wilkes University
Private College in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Six-year graduation rate 63%. Median 10-year earnings $63,454.
Students who entered Wilkes University reach a median of $63,454 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. Six-year completion sits at 63%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $26,000, neither a bargain nor a burden. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 2.9% of students move from the bottom income quintile to the top.
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
Wilkes University admits 91% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. 7,660 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. Yield is low at 9%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. The score bands below rest on the 19% 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 | 530–630 | 122 (19%) |
| SAT Math | 490–620 | |
| ACT Composite | 22–29 | 13 (2%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Wilkes University →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 63%, meaning about two in five students who enroll leave without finishing. 72% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. Transfer-out runs to 25% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. At 13:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. As a private nonprofit four-year college, 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 1,893 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price averages $28,511 annually, so cost is the first thing to weigh here. Net price varies modestly by income — $25,062 at $0–30k against $31,638 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Most students get help: 90% receive grants worth $27,341 on average. Most students borrow — 75% take federal loans to cover the gap.
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 · 510 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 | $25,062 |
| $30–48k | $23,440 |
| $48–75k | $26,432 |
| $75–110k | $27,843 |
| $110k+ | $31,638 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,417 of these 1,893 students, totalling $9,165,571 — an average of $6,468 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Luzerne 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)