Western Connecticut State University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Western Connecticut State University

Western Connecticut State University operates as a public institution located in Danbury, Connecticut (city: small), with a total reported enrollment of 3,511 students of which 4,065 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 Connecticut State 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 87.0%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,110. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $17,604, with published in-state tuition of $13,401 and a Pell grant recipient share of 35.1%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $24,147, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 51.0%, and the first-year retention rate is 73.2%. Graduates earn a median of $59,115 ten years after enrolling, compared with $45,997 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 246600.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 67.4% 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.