BaccalaureatePrivate nonprofit

Wheaton College

Wheaton, Illinois·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Great Lakes·wheaton.edu
6-yr Graduation
85%
+9.5pp vs Baccalaureate
Total enrollment
2,874
peer median 2,204
Avg net price
$26,984
+$1.7k vs Baccalaureate
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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
2,040
2,040 candidates competed
Admitted
1,783
87.4% acceptance rate
Enrolled
533
29.9% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
85%+9.5pp vs Baccalaureate
4-year graduation
76%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
85%
Full-time retention
93%

Pell equity

2.0pp gap
Pell recipients
84%
Non-Pell
86%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 2.0-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 59 Title IV programs, 17 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 42 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
59
Passing
17
28.8% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

59programs
  • Passing17 · 28.8%
  • No Data42 · 71.2%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
1
Watch
5
Safe
11
No data
42

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.

17
Anthropology
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
+7.7%
$37,501 vs $34,808
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+10.2%
$38,363 vs $34,808
Philosophy
Bachelor Degree · Philosophy And Religious Studies
+15.1%
$40,076 vs $34,808
Music
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+15.9%
$40,329 vs $34,808
Religious Education
Bachelor Degree · Theology And Religious Vocations
+22.4%
$42,605 vs $34,808
Romance Languages Literatures and Linguistics
Bachelor Degree · Foreign Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics
+22.5%
$42,635 vs $34,808
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
Master's Degree · Psychology
+26.1%
$61,371 vs $48,653
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+39.0%
$48,374 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

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

15
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
Doctoral Degree · Psychology
150%
$134,363 debt · $89,362 earn
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
Master's Degree · Psychology
67%
$41,000 debt · $61,371 earn
Music
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
62%
$25,125 debt · $40,329 earn
Philosophy
Bachelor Degree · Philosophy And Religious Studies
60%
$24,001 debt · $40,076 earn
Religious Education
Bachelor Degree · Theology And Religious Vocations
56%
$23,875 debt · $42,605 earn
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
55%
$21,000 debt · $38,363 earn
Romance Languages Literatures and Linguistics
Bachelor Degree · Foreign Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics
53%
$22,754 debt · $42,635 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
51%
$24,644 debt · $48,374 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1916Next review Aug 2034
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1913

Programmatic accreditations · 3

Action history · 3

  1. Jul 2024Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission
  2. Sep 2014Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission
  3. Aug 2014Change in Agency recognition
    National Association of Schools of Music, Commission on Accreditation · Music (MUS) - Institutions and units within institutions offering degree-granting and/or non-degree-granting programs

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$17,966
$30–48k$18,623
$48–75k$20,430
$75–110k$24,968
$110k+$35,320

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

Avg net price (private)
$26,984
+$1,672vs Baccalaureate median $25,312
Federal loans
46.5%
In-state tuition
$43,930
Out-of-state
$43,930

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 684 students received $3.9M in Pell grants, alongside $13.3M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
684
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$3.9M
$3,872,778 total
Direct Loans
$13.3M
1,892 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

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

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$3.2M
715 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$3.1M
848 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$3.5M
162 loan awards
Parent PLUS$2.7M
125 loan awards
Grad PLUS$844K
42 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 546 borrowers who entered repayment, 0 (0.0%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.0%
-2.3pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
546
Defaulted
0
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
0.9%
2017
0.7%
2018
0.5%
2019
0.0%
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 Wheaton College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs55
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

705 total completions
01Theology
15221.6%
02Psychology
12217.3%
03Social Sciences
9613.6%
04Education
7210.2%
05Business
547.7%
06Biological Sciences
517.2%
07Visual/Performing Arts
446.2%
08Communication
395.5%
09English Language
385.4%
10Foreign Languages
375.2%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
2,874
12-mo unduplicated
3,254
Undergraduate
2,373
Graduate
881

Gender split

Men
44%1,422
Women
56%1,832

Race / ethnicity composition

White
68.3%
Asian
10.1%
Hispanic
8.0%
Two or more
6.3%
Non-resident
3.4%
Black
2.6%
Unknown
1.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.1%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
467
320 M · 147 W
Women athletes
31.5%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$5.3M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$103K
$28K
Head-coach salaries
$58K
$54K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 11

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
142 M · 103 W
$288K
Football
114 M ·
$814K
Soccer
34 M · 25 W
$641K
Swimming and Diving (combined)
26 M · 18 W
$244K
Baseball
39 M ·
$320K
Basketball
16 M · 15 W
$503K

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
4.16
12 offenses · 2,885 students

3-year trend

2.062 yrs ago4.271 yr ago4.16Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
31
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
25
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
1

Criminal offenses by type

Burglary
5
Motor vehicle theft
3
Rape
2
Fondling
2

By location

12total
  • On campus9
  • Non-campus1
  • Public property2

Includes 5 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

2
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
4
Stalking
6 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs10
Liquor25

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

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)
188

Wheaton College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Wheaton College 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
SubjectWheaton College
85%2,874$26,984Baccalaureate
Augustana College
73%62.7%2,570$12,437Baccalaureate
Lake Forest College
78%56.8%1,837$27,499Baccalaureate
Illinois College
64%78.2%942$17,945Baccalaureate
Knox College
68%70.8%1,136$24,875Baccalaureate
Hope College
80%79.2%3,395$25,749Baccalaureate
Peer group median76%70.8%2,204$25,312

Frequently asked questions about Wheaton College

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Wheaton College.

What is the graduation rate at Wheaton College?

Wheaton College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 85% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Wheaton College?

Wheaton College reports a total enrollment of 2,874 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Wheaton College?

The average net price at Wheaton College is $26,984 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Wheaton College?

Wheaton College's yield rate is 29.9%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Wheaton College located?

Wheaton College is located in Wheaton, Illinois 60187-5593.

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