Willamette University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Willamette University

Willamette University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Salem, Oregon (city: midsize), with a total reported enrollment of 1,592 students of which 1,635 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. Willamette University is categorized as “21” 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 77.1%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,377. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $25,121, with published in-state tuition of $51,156 and a Pell grant recipient share of 23.5%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $21,500, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 72.0%, and the first-year retention rate is 86.5%. Graduates earn a median of $56,911 ten years after enrolling, compared with $38,932 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 65900.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 64.0% 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.