Western Michigan University

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

Western Michigan University operates as a public institution located in Kalamazoo, Michigan (city: small), with a total reported enrollment of 12,568 students of which 14,117 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 Michigan University is categorized as “16” 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 84.6%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey and an ACT midpoint of 24. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $15,273, with published in-state tuition of $15,252 and a Pell grant recipient share of 26.8%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $26,188, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 57.7%, and the first-year retention rate is 81.1%. Graduates earn a median of $53,562 ten years after enrolling, compared with $45,356 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 930800.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 61.0% 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.