Washington and Lee University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Lexington, Virginia (town: distant), with a total reported enrollment of 1,881 students of which 1,903 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. Washington and Lee University is categorized as “21” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 14.0%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,498 and an ACT midpoint of 34. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $23,781, with published in-state tuition of $68,045 and a Pell grant recipient share of 11.3%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $19,500, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 94.4%, and the first-year retention rate is 96.6%. Graduates earn a median of $94,810 ten years after enrolling, compared with $76,516 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 23200.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 82.8% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.