unitid 200004 · Cullowhee, NC · public 4-year · town (distant)
Western Carolina University
- enrollment 2023
- 13,205
- predominant degree
- Bachelor's
scorecard 2026-06 · percentiles within public 4-years
The record
admission rate
82%
47th pctl among public 4-years
undergraduates
10,024
72nd pctl among public 4-years
Pell share
35%
undergrads on Pell grants
58th pctl among public 4-years
completion
60%
finish within 150% time
78th pctl among public 4-years
sticker cost / yr
$19,992
36th pctl among public 4-years
avg net price / yr
$13,315
after aid, aided students
54th pctl among public 4-years
median earnings, 10 yr
$49,458
after entry, Title IV students
48th pctl among public 4-years
median grad debt
$21,868
71st pctl among public 4-years
what families actually pay
Cost
Sticker price is a fiction for most families — net price is what aided students pay after grants, by family income.
Average net price by family income, 2023–24 aid cohort
Families earning under $30k paid $8,816 per year after aid.
Dashed hollow marks are privacy-suppressed brackets — not zero. Band: middle half of public 4-years (all incomes).
Who enrolls, by family income
- 0-30k26%
- 30-48k18%
- 48-75k18%
- 75-110k19%
- 110k+19%
- Median family income
- $46,182
- First-generation students
- 33%
- In-state tuition & fees
- $4,630
earnings · debt · programs
Outcomes
Median earnings after entry, working grads with federal aid
Ten years out, the median graduate earns 2.3× the median graduate debt.
Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only.
What programs pay — top fields of study
| program | grads | earn 5 yr | debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | 253 | $50,856 | $23,495 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | 238 | $72,955 | $23,163 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | 169 | $44,949 | $24,714 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | 156 | $53,478 | $21,461 |
| Marketing. | 152 | $57,435 | $23,508 |
| Psychology, General. | 148 | $40,666 | $23,250 |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General. | 141 | — | — |
| Public Administration. | 120 | $61,307 | $18,375 |
| Biology, General. | 85 | $55,306 | $26,037 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | 85 | $64,679 | $23,625 |
| Social Work. | 69 | $56,936 | — |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | 60 | $57,020 | $23,835 |
— is privacy suppression at small programs, never zero. Earnings are median, 5 years after completing.
annual scorecard files, 1996–2026
Trajectory
Line breaks are years where the measure wasn't collected — a gap is not a zero.
Admission rate
Price per year
- sticker
- net
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
Undergraduates
nearest neighbors in sector
Compare with peers
built 2026-07-17
Provenance
- U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, 2026-06 release. Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only. Suppressed values are null, never imputed.
- Annual Scorecard files 1996-2026. A null in early years usually means the measure was not yet collected, not zero.
- Coordinates and locale describe the campus address, not where students live.