Western Carolina University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Western Carolina University

Western Carolina University operates as a public institution located in Cullowhee, North Carolina (town: distant), with a total reported enrollment of 10,024 students of which 11,291 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. Western Carolina University is categorized as “17” 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 81.8%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,157 and an ACT midpoint of 22. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $13,315, with published in-state tuition of $4,630 and a Pell grant recipient share of 34.6%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $21,868, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 59.7%, and the first-year retention rate is 79.1%. Graduates earn a median of $49,458 ten years after enrolling, compared with $43,085 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 329300.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 62.8% 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.