R2 ResearchPrivate nonprofitMedical

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, North Carolina·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Southeast·wfu.edu
6-yr Graduation
89%
+22.5pp vs R2 Research
Total enrollment
9,322
peer median 9,094
Avg net price
$28,746
-$3.1k vs R2 Research
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Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

Applied
18,727
18,727 candidates competed
Admitted
4,058
21.7% acceptance rate
Enrolled
1,464
36.1% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

Overall completion
89%+22.5pp vs R2 Research
4-year graduation
84%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
89%
Full-time retention
93%

Pell equity

6.0pp gap
Pell recipients
87%
Non-Pell
93%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 6.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

Of 103 Title IV programs, 23 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 80 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
103
Passing
23
22.3% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

103programs
  • Passing23 · 22.3%
  • No Data80 · 77.7%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
23
No data
80

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

23
Student Counseling and Personnel Services
Master's Degree · Education
+25.0%
$57,982 vs $46,391
Biology General
Master's Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
+36.9%
$73,476 vs $53,672
Theological and Ministerial Studies
Master's Degree · Theology And Religious Vocations
+39.6%
$62,158 vs $44,535
Sociology
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
+74.2%
$60,635 vs $34,808
Romance Languages Literatures and Linguistics
Bachelor Degree · Foreign Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics
+74.9%
$60,875 vs $34,808
Biology General
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
+81.8%
$63,292 vs $34,808
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+86.2%
$64,814 vs $34,808
Law
Master's Degree · Legal Professions And Studies
+88.7%
$102,929 vs $54,534

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

21
Medicine
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
167%
$198,752 debt · $119,030 earn
Student Counseling and Personnel Services
Master's Degree · Education
132%
$76,591 debt · $57,982 earn
Law
First Professional Degree · Legal Professions And Studies
93%
$104,944 debt · $112,646 earn
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
89%
$113,765 debt · $127,297 earn
Theological and Ministerial Studies
Master's Degree · Theology And Religious Vocations
87%
$53,881 debt · $62,158 earn
Biology General
Master's Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
77%
$56,884 debt · $73,476 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
46%
$101,325 debt · $221,028 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
43%
$57,895 debt · $135,677 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

Accredited since 1921Next review Dec 2026

Programmatic accreditations · 8

Action history · 26

  1. Oct 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs · Nurse Anesthesia (ANEST) - Institutions and programs at the master's degree, post master's certificate or doctoral degree levels
  2. Feb 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  3. Jan 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  4. Jan 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  5. Jun 2024Renewal of Accreditation
    Liaison Committee on Medical Education · Medicine (MED) - Programs leading to the M.D. degree

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$11,554
$30–48k$6,043
$48–75k$12,769
$75–110k$19,759
$110k+$54,447

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$28,746
-$3,095vs R2 Research median $31,842
Federal loans
14.6%
In-state tuition
$64,758
Out-of-state
$64,758

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

In AY 2024–25, 667 students received $4.1M in Pell grants, alongside $85.9M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
667
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$4.1M
$4,095,698 total
Direct Loans
$85.9M
4,160 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
20
0k
21
1k
22
1k
23
1k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$1.5M
386 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$2.4M
545 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$40.4M
1,940 loan awards
Parent PLUS$5.7M
128 loan awards
Grad PLUS$36.0M
1,161 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Of 1,164 borrowers who entered repayment, 4 (0.3%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.3%
-2.0pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
1,164
Defaulted
4
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
1.4%
2017
1.6%
2018
0.6%
2019
0.3%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Wake Forest

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs90
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

2,541 total completions
01Business
82132.3%
02Social Sciences
34313.5%
03Health Professions
34213.5%
04Legal Professions
2108.3%
05Biological Sciences
1947.6%
06Communication
1626.4%
07Psychology
1576.2%
08Education
1375.4%
09Parks/Recreation
1074.2%
10Mathematics
682.7%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

Fall total
9,322
12-mo unduplicated
9,843
Undergraduate
5,610
Graduate
4,233

Gender split

Men
43%4,244
Women
57%5,599

Race / ethnicity composition

White
64.3%
Hispanic
9.6%
Non-resident
7.6%
Black
6.6%
Two or more
5.6%
Asian
5.3%
Unknown
1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.0%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

Athletes
430
275 M · 155 W
Women athletes
36.0%
Athletic aid
$21.1M
Total student aid
Budget
$102.3M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$13.6M
$7.5M
Recruiting expense
$1.3M
$551K
Head-coach salaries
$1.4M
$206K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 9

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
84 M · 98 W
$4.5M
Football
126 M ·
$32.5M
Soccer
32 M · 36 W
$5.6M
Baseball
40 M ·
$5.0M
Basketball
18 M · 17 W
$17.7M
Tennis
16 M · 10 W
$3.7M

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
11.05
99 offenses · 8,963 students

3-year trend

8.532 yrs ago11.511 yr ago11.05Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
277
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
173
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
6
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
11

Criminal offenses by type

Motor vehicle theft
34
Burglary
19
Aggravated assault
19
Rape
11
Fondling
9
Robbery
7

By location

99total
  • On campus46
  • Non-campus46
  • Public property7

Includes 10 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

54
Domestic violence
7
Dating violence
34
Stalking
95 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

  • Race2
  • National origin2
  • Sexual orientation1

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons24
Drugs1970
Liquor0334

Residence-hall fires

  • Davis Residence Hall1 fire
    CookingDamage $100-$999
  • 1157 Polo Rd.1 fire
    CookingDamage $1,000-$9,999

Data quality: 16 reports were later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

Student-to-faculty
10.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
3,086

Wake Forest vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Wake Forest selected for federal comparison reporting.

GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectWake Forest University
89%9,322$28,746R2 Research
Mercer University
70%68.9%9,196$22,350R2 Research
Florida Institute of Technology
62%57.7%8,992$35,300R2 Research
Clark Atlanta University
49%64.2%4,252$35,115R2 Research
Nova Southeastern University
63%73.2%20,910$31,303R2 Research
Creighton University
83%79.8%8,581$32,380R2 Research
Peer group median67%68.9%9,094$31,842

Frequently asked questions about Wake Forest University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Wake Forest.

What is the graduation rate at Wake Forest University?

Wake Forest University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 89% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Wake Forest University?

Wake Forest University reports a total enrollment of 9,322 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Wake Forest University?

The average net price at Wake Forest University is $28,746 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Wake Forest University?

Wake Forest University's yield rate is 36.1%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Wake Forest University located?

Wake Forest University is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27106.

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