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College profile

University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

WI · Public · Small city · 9,082 applicants 2023

87% admit rate $14K–$20K/yr in-state — aid decides

A parent's read

  • The payoff holds even at full price: roughly 7× over a decade. With no aid at all — the full in-state ~$19,652/yr — a decade of median earnings (~$55,548/yr) still runs about 7× the four-year cost. This payoff doesn't depend on qualifying for anything. (Out-of-state costs more.)
  • Worth asking: do students finish? Only 46% graduate within six years here — the standard federal measure. Ask what drives that: course availability, transfers out, students working long hours. Not finishing is the costliest outcome there is.

Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.

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Odds at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

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Parent/student verdict

Accessible

Accessible for most applicants. Affordable — net price averages ~$14,305/yr among aid recipients. Major value play for in-state residents.

Best for

  • In-state residents (tuition ~$8,532 — major value play)
  • Students drawn to Health Professions or Business, Management, & Marketing (the two biggest majors)

The reality

  • You'd be near the bottom of their admitted class if: ACT below 18 (test bands are the school's own; the GPA floor is our estimate, not a published figure)

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price with aid and at full price, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

What are your child's odds here?

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Weighted is the higher GPA, with honors/AP credit in it — pick whichever your school reports. PSAT scores work in the SAT box.

Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification
Doctoral/Professional Universities
Undergraduates
6,877
10,000 - 19,999 including graduate students
In-state tuitionThe published full price before any aid. Families who don't qualify for need-based aid at a given college pay this, minus any merit scholarships — whether you qualify depends on the college's price and policies, not on any fixed income line.
$8,532
sticker, before aid
Out-of-state tuition
$16,446
+$7,914 vs in-state
Admit rateThe share of applicants a college accepts. Useful context, but your student's odds depend on their own grades and scores, not the average.
86.7%
Accepts the majority
ACT middle 50%The middle half of the enrolled first-years who sent this test scored in this range — a quarter of them scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. At a test-optional college the students who submitted are often a minority of the class, so the range describes them rather than everyone who enrolled. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
18–24
composite
Test policyApplicants choose whether to send SAT/ACT scores. At many such colleges, students who submit strong scores are still admitted at higher rates.
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earningsMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$55,548
median, after entry

34% of enrolled first-years submitted an ACT score — this range describes students who submitted, not the whole class.

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry
$50,140
Earnings, 10 yrs after entryMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$55,548
Graduate within 6 yrsThe share of students who start here and finish a bachelor's within six years — the standard federal measure, and the one College Scorecard publishes. It is not a four-year rate. Read it as the odds of finishing at all: nationally about a third of students who start never do, and an unfinished degree is the most expensive outcome in this decision.
46%
Median debt (completers)The federal-loan balance of the typical graduating borrower. Families who pay cash aren't counted, so read it as "among those who borrowed."
$21,500

The real cost

What University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh actually costs

If you qualify for need aidGrant money based on your family's finances (via FAFSA and the college's own forms), not your student's stats.
$14,305/yr
average among aid-receiving families, all incomes — your number depends on your finances
If you don't
$19,652/yr
the full published price for in-state students — out-of-state runs higher

Which side your family lands on isn't set by any national income line — it's set by University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh's own aid decision: the gap between its price and your family's finances.

Get your family's number — University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh's Net Price Calculator ↗ 10–15 minutes; have a tax return handy. It's still an estimate — but it's this college's own, built from your family's numbers, not anyone's average.
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Your odds + estimated cost across your whole college list, side by side.

The payoffTen years of typical graduate pay minus four years of cost — how many dollars ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten. Check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you; median pay reflects who a college admits and what they study as much as the college itself., both ways

+$477K ahead at full price +$498K with aid
Full price, no aidThe all-in yearly price — tuition, housing, food, books, fees — before any aid. This is the real "full price," not just the tuition line. (4 yrs, in-state)
$78,608
~$19,652/yr all-in (out-of-state runs higher)
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$57,220
$14,305/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$555,480
$55,548/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
1.4 yrs
at full price (1.0 with aid), at the median earnings rate

Source: College Scorecard (average net price among Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates who received aid) and each college's published cost of attendance. We don't show the federal net-price-by-income brackets: their categories were fixed in 2008 and never adjusted, and none of the averages is your family's own number — the full story. Payoff = (10-yr median earnings × 10) − (4 years of cost), in dollars — how far ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten; medians travel with the students a college admits and the majors they choose as much as with the college itself. Full price is the published cost of attendance, largely in-state for publics; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.

What students study here

Most popular majors at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Health Professions
354 degrees · 36.2%
Highest-paying group on this list, but most careers require additional training beyond a 4-year degree.
2. Business, Management, & Marketing
266 degrees · 27.2%
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
3. Education
170 degrees · 17.4%
Teaching is the largest path. Salary depends heavily on district + state.
4. Communication, Journalism, & Related
96 degrees · 9.8%
Media, PR, marketing communications. Salary spread is wide.
5. Public Administration & Social Services
93 degrees · 9.5%
Government, nonprofit, social work. Mission-driven; lower wages than private sector but stable.

What those majors earn here

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh's own graduates, not national averages.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Computer Engineering. Bachelor's Degree — $76,187 $107,771
Finance and Financial Management Services. Bachelor's Degree 79 $58,085 $79,927
Economics. Bachelor's Degree 51 $57,663 $79,267
Business Administration, Management and Operations. Bachelor's Degree 91 $57,809 $79,228
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 37 $60,885 $79,217
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. Bachelor's Degree 290 $71,633 $77,490
Business/Commerce, General. Bachelor's Degree — $57,853 $73,138
Marketing. Bachelor's Degree 76 $51,607 $69,383
Human Resources Management and Services. Bachelor's Degree 39 $55,263 $67,766
General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations. Bachelor's Degree — $54,213 $66,875

Sources: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a; bachelor's-level first majors, 2-digit CIP family — share is of the top 5 only) · College Scorecard program-level outcomes (PP-FOS). Full college-vs-major comparison: /college-outcomes →

AI program signal

AI + computing education at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

CS degrees (annual)
16
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

Alternatives to University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.

Better merit-aid options
These similar-selectivity schools publish merit scholarships your family can plan around — your kid’s stats could unlock real scholarship dollars.
The University of Alabama
AL · Public
21 stats-based + 2 competitive scholarships
Mississippi State University
MS · Public
18 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
University of Alabama at Birmingham
AL · Public
17 stats-based + 2 competitive scholarships
Lower full price
Similar selectivity, but a meaningfully lower full sticker price — the comparison that matters most for families who won't qualify for much need-based aid.
Indiana University-Kokomo
IN · Public
$11,837/yr full price (in-state) · $7,815 less before aid for IN residents
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
GA · Public
$13,956/yr full price (in-state) · $5,696 less before aid for GA residents
Indiana University-Northwest
IN · Public
$13,989/yr full price (in-state) · $5,663 less before aid for IN residents

Or compare any college side-by-side

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At a glance

JSON · Using this page with an AI assistant

University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh is a public four-year college in WI. It admitted 87% of applicants (9,082 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-optional.

Middle 50% of enrolled first-years who submitted that test: ACT 18–24. 34% of enrolled first-years submitted an ACT score — this range describes students who submitted, not the whole class.

Cost: about $14,305 a year on average with aid, $19,652 a year at full price for in-state students.

Median earnings ten years after entry: $55,548 a year. Payoff, meaning ten years of that pay minus four years of cost: $498,260 ahead with aid, $476,872 ahead at full price.

Highest median earnings four years after the degree, by program: Computer Engineering ($107,771); Finance and Financial Management Services ($79,927); Economics ($79,267).

Machine-readable version of this page: https://highschoolreach.com/colleges/university-of-wisconsin-oshkosh.json

By major: AccountingAnthropologyArt (Studio)BiologyBusiness AdministrationCommunicationComputer EngineeringCriminal Justice and CriminologyEconomicsEnglishEnvironmental ScienceFilm and TelevisionFinanceHistoryInformation SystemsJournalismLiberal Studies (teacher preparation)MarketingNursing (BSN)Political SciencePsychologySocial Work
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What families ask next

Can my kid get in? Score odds calculator → See how a higher SAT or ACT changes admit odds — college by college. What will it cost — and pay back? Earnings by major → What graduates actually earn, program by program. What do we do next? Free Family Decision Report Reach / Competitive / Match / Likely for every college on their list, plus the real cost. Start with a 10-second odds check — no email needed. Check odds →