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Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, North Carolina · Private, a large city · 5,485 undergraduates

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Is it hard to get into Wake Forest?

The middle half of admitted students scored in these ranges: a quarter scored lower, a quarter higher. Fall 2024 admissions, from the College Scorecard.

Acceptance rate
21.7%
17,479 applied
SAT, middle half
1410 to 1520
Reading plus math, out of 1600
ACT, middle half
32 to 34
Composite, out of 36
Test scores this year
Optional: considered if sent
37% of admitted students enrolled
What they look at
  • High school GPAConsidered
  • Class rankConsidered
  • Courses takenRequired
  • College-prep programConsidered
  • RecommendationsRequired
  • EssayRequired

How much does Wake Forest cost?

Sticker prices and what students actually paid after grants, by family income. A year means tuition, fees, room, board, books and other costs.

Tuition and fees
$70,332
A full year, sticker price
$91,202
Living on campus
Average price after grants
$28,165
Students who got federal aid

What a year cost, by family income

Family incomeAverage paid after grants
Under $30,000$6,242
$30,001 to $48,000$6,576
$48,001 to $75,000$14,876
$75,001 to $110,000$13,571
Over $110,000$65,247
Room and board on campus
$19,054 a year
Books and supplies
$1,718 a year
The school's own grants
34% of full-time first-years get one, averaging $52,790

Tuition over the years

Tuition and fees for a year, as reported to the federal government.

$0K$21K$41K$62K$82K201220142016201820202022Wake Forest

How much do Wake Forest students borrow?

Federal student loans only, for students who borrowed.

Typical debt at graduation
$19,500
About $222 a month over ten years
Students who borrow
13.1%
Get a Pell Grant
11.9%
Federal grant for lower-income families
Over 25 when they start
0.2%

What do Wake Forest graduates earn?

Typical yearly pay of everyone who started here with federal aid, whatever they studied and whether or not they finished.

Six years after starting
$78,645
Ten years after starting
$104,443
Middle half: $66,856 to $162,307
Best-paid program, five years out
$182,268
Finance and Financial Management Services
Lowest-paid program, five years out
$66,418
Biology, General

Do Wake Forest students finish?

Of the students who started full time, first time.

Back for second year
92.6%
Graduate in six years
90.3%
The four-year figure is for a later, smaller group, so it is not shown
After eight years
91% graduated
6% transferred, 0% still enrolled

Who goes to Wake Forest?

Women
55.1%
First in their family at college
12%
Part-time
1.3%
Students per teacher
10
Background
White 65%, Hispanic 10%, Black 6%, Asian 5%, Two or more 5%, International 6%
Housing
Campus housing, 4,104 beds

What do Wake Forest graduates earn, by program?

Every bachelor's program the school awards, with what its graduates earn and owe. The government hides pay for small programs, so some rows have no figure.

Computer science

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Computer Science121Hidden$132,985Hidden

Engineering

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Engineering, General72$78,620Hidden$20,000

Business and commerce

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Accounting and Related Services73HiddenHiddenHidden
Business/Commerce, General226$81,480$147,633$19,500
Finance and Financial Management Services289$116,242$182,268$19,500
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods48HiddenHiddenHidden

Health sciences and kinesiology

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness203$39,950$77,814$19,500

Life sciences

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology89HiddenHiddenHidden
Biology, General177$33,922$66,418$24,222
Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy17HiddenHiddenHidden
Natural Resources Conservation and Research18HiddenHiddenHidden

Math and physical sciences

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Applied Statistics7HiddenHiddenHidden
Chemistry51Hidden$69,869Hidden
Mathematics57HiddenHiddenHidden
Physics19HiddenHiddenHidden
Statistics58Hidden$89,789Hidden

Social sciences

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Anthropology24HiddenHiddenHidden
Area Studies17HiddenHiddenHidden
Communication and Media Studies277$59,986$81,048$17,301
Economics258$77,516$119,516$19,500
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies13HiddenHiddenHidden
Political Science and Government261$54,174$95,623$19,000
Psychology, General266$38,630$70,291$20,000
Sociology74$47,913$85,686$19,500

Arts and humanities

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics6HiddenHiddenHidden
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics6HiddenHiddenHidden
English Language and Literature, General76$51,584$87,998$19,500
Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics10HiddenHiddenHidden
History82$39,514$85,916Hidden
Philosophy56HiddenHiddenHidden
Religion/Religious Studies7HiddenHiddenHidden
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics60Hidden$73,598Hidden
Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics3HiddenHiddenHidden

Education (teaching)

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Education, General7HiddenHiddenHidden
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods13HiddenHiddenHidden

Fine and performing arts

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft7HiddenHiddenHidden
Fine and Studio Arts53HiddenHiddenHidden
Music6HiddenHiddenHidden

General arts and science (major chosen later)

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities4HiddenHiddenHidden

Compare Wake Forest with other universities

Side by side: acceptance rates, scores, costs and pay.

Where these numbers come from

College Scorecard release 10152026, Most Recent Cohorts files, fetched 2026-10-20. Test policy: the school's page (opens in a new tab). Tuition history, housing and the school's own grants: the federal IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) survey.

How every figure in this part of the site is sourced, and the check of every link.

Careerhelp is not affiliated with Wake Forest University. Figures describe past students; check the school's own pages before you apply.

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