Wilkes University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Wilkes University

Wilkes University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (city: small), with a total reported enrollment of 1,985 students of which 2,225 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. Wilkes 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 90.6%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,136 and an ACT midpoint of 24. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $27,743, with published in-state tuition of $43,496 and a Pell grant recipient share of 34.5%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $26,000, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 61.8%, and the first-year retention rate is 71.6%. Graduates earn a median of $63,454 ten years after enrolling, compared with $54,128 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 120800.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 74.4% 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.