Wayne State University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Wayne State University

Wayne State University operates as a public institution located in Detroit, Michigan (city: large), with a total reported enrollment of 15,587 students of which 18,699 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. Wayne State University is categorized as “15” 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 81.2%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,156 and an ACT midpoint of 25. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $12,766, with published in-state tuition of $15,190 and a Pell grant recipient share of 45.7%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $21,250, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 57.5%, and the first-year retention rate is 82.7%. Graduates earn a median of $53,493 ten years after enrolling, compared with $45,207 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 989800.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 60.8% 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.