West Liberty University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for West Liberty University

West Liberty University operates as a public institution located in West Liberty, West Virginia (rural: fringe), with a total reported enrollment of 1,511 students of which 2,105 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. West Liberty University is categorized as “19” 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 97.3%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,045 and an ACT midpoint of 21. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $15,366, with published in-state tuition of $8,893 and a Pell grant recipient share of 31.9%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $23,250, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 60.1%, and the first-year retention rate is 68.9%. Graduates earn a median of $43,296 ten years after enrolling, compared with $36,822 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 133300.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 57.8% 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.