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🎓 College profile

Wake Forest University

NC · Private nonprofit · Large city · 17,479 applicants 2023

R2 Research
22% admit rate SAT 1390–1510 $58,081/yr at $110k+ income

🧭 A parent's read

  • Kids finish — on time. 89% graduate in four years. Nationally, barely half do — and a fifth year elsewhere quietly adds $30–70k to the real price. On-time completion is the most underrated ROI number in this decision.
  • The 7× payoff headline requires aid. Without aid this runs ~$87,499/yr, and many families above ~$110K income won't qualify for need-based aid here. Families who do receive aid average ~$28,719/yr — against that, ten years of median earnings run ~7× the cost. Run the college's own net-price calculator before anchoring on the multiple.
  • Ask the submit question deliberately. This college is test-optional — but at many such colleges, applicants who submit strong scores are admitted at meaningfully higher rates. “Optional” is a strategy decision, not a pass.

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

Get your child's odds at Wake Forest University Free Family Decision Report — Reach / Match / Likely + your real net price. Wake Forest University starts already on the list. Start →

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Strong target

Selective but achievable for strong students.

✅ Best for

  • Strong academic profiles — admitted students cluster in the top test and GPA tiers (bands above)
  • Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Social Sciences (the two biggest majors)
  • Research-curious students (R2 — active research output)
  • A long-term payoff that holds even at full price — median 10-yr earnings of $78,158 return ~2.2× the ~$87,499/yr sticker over a decade (aid recipients average ~$28,719/yr)

🎯 The reality

  • Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 1390, or ACT below 32, or unweighted GPA below ~3.80 (admitted-class quartiles; GPA floor is a calibrated heuristic where CDS not yet on file)
  • With selective universities, build a balanced college list of Reaches, Targets, and Safeties ⓘ
  • High cost — aid-receiving families above $110K income still average ~$58,081/yr net, and without need aid the full price is ~$87,499/yr — verify the major's earnings track record before committing

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

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification
R2: Doctoral - High Research Activity
Total enrollment
5,485
5,000 - 9,999
TuitionThe published full price before any aid. Families who don't qualify for need-based aid — common above ~$110K income — pay this, minus any merit scholarships.
$67,642
flat rate (no in/out-of-state split)
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.
21.6%
Highly selective
SAT middle 50%The middle half of enrolled students scored in this range — a quarter scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
1390–1510
EBRW + Math composite
ACT middle 50%The middle half of enrolled students scored in this range — a quarter scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
32–34
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.
$78,158
median, after entry

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
$67,722
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.
$78,158
4-year completionThe share of students who finish a bachelor's in four years. Nationally barely half do — and a fifth year quietly adds a full extra year of cost to the real price.
89%
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 families at your income actually pay

Above $110K income — where most Reach families sit — aid-receiving families average $58,081/yr at Wake Forest University; families who don't qualify for aid pay the full ~$87,499/yr. Lower brackets pay less — the full ladder is below. One caveat, once: every bracket figure here averages only the families in that bracket who received aid — it says nothing about whether your family will qualify.

🔎 Earning over $110K? You're above the top federal bracket — the median family headed by a 45-to-54-year-old (the prime college-parent years) earned about $134K in 2024, and the federal data lumps everyone from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Whether you'll get need aidGrant money based on your family's finances (via FAFSA and the college's own forms), not your student's stats. at this income is entirely college-specific: a few heavily-endowed schools meet full need well past $150K, while many others give little above the brackets shown — there, merit scholarships, where offered, become the realistic lever.

Start your Family Decision Report →

Your odds + estimated net price across your whole college list — then confirm the exact figure with Wake Forest University's own Net Price Calculator ↗ (10–15 min; have your tax return handy).

Family income $110k+ most Reach families
$58,081/yr
Family income $75-110k
$12,771/yr
Family income $48-75k
$7,647/yr
Family income $30-48k
$6,331/yr
Family income $0-30k
$6,525/yr

📈 The payoffTen years of typical earnings divided by four years of cost. A 3× means a decade of median pay covers the cost three times over — check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you., both ways

2.2× at full price 6.8× 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)
$349,996
~$87,499/yr all-in
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$114,876
$28,719/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$781,580
$78,158/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
4.5 yrs
at full price (1.5 with aid), at the median earnings rate

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41–NPT45; Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates; suppressed brackets = small cohorts; the $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — the brackets haven't been refreshed since the early 2010s). Payoff multiple = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (4-yr cost); full price is the published cost of attendance; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Wake Forest University

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

1. Business, Management, & Marketing
337 degrees · 37.3%
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
2. Social Sciences
228 degrees · 25.2%
Economics + poli sci sub-disciplines pay much more than sociology + anthropology.
3. Biological & Biomedical Sciences
133 degrees · 14.7%
Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.
4. Communication, Journalism, & Related
106 degrees · 11.7%
Media, PR, marketing communications. Salary spread is wide.
5. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness
99 degrees · 11.0%
Coaching, athletic training, public-sector recreation, fitness industry.

💼 What those majors earn here

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Wake Forest University's own graduates, not national averages.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. Bachelor's Degree 18 — $146,608
Finance and Financial Management Services. Bachelor's Degree 147 $85,944 $145,996
Business/Commerce, General. Bachelor's Degree 154 $76,722 $118,167
Computer Science. Bachelor's Degree 49 $75,625 $115,493
Economics. Bachelor's Degree 120 $56,416 $98,209
Political Science and Government. Bachelor's Degree 133 $47,161 $85,668
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. Bachelor's Degree 75 $21,192 $79,599
Communication and Media Studies. Bachelor's Degree 130 $42,055 $77,984
English Language and Literature, General. Bachelor's Degree 39 $31,449 $77,847
Psychology, General. Bachelor's Degree 115 $34,823 $64,814

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 →

📈 Student body & economic mobility

Who attends here — and what the campus adds.

Opportunity Insights data. Why it matters even if you're full-pay: a high mobility rate means the campus itself confers earnings power — the outcomes aren't just selection effects.

Top-1% access
16.6%
from top-1% households
Mobility rateThe share of ALL students who arrived from the bottom 20% of family incomes AND reached the top 20% themselves by their early 30s — access and lift in one number, and a sign the campus itself adds earnings power.
0.7%
bottom 20% → top 20% by age 32
Upward rate
40.3%
of lower-income students who reach the top 20%
Pell recipientsStudents receiving federal Pell grants, which go to lower- and middle-income families — the standard shorthand for a college's economic mix.
10%
on federal need grants — context for these numbers

Full leaderboards: /college-mobility →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at Wake Forest University

CS degrees (annual)
57
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

Alternatives to Wake Forest University

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.
University of Alabama in Huntsville
AL · Public
39 stats-based merit scholarships
The University of Alabama
AL · Public
21 stats-based + 2 competitive scholarships
Mississippi State University
MS · Public
18 stats-based + 1 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.
CUNY Hunter College
NY · Public
$13,905/yr full price (in-state) · $73,594 less before aid
CUNY Brooklyn College
NY · Public
$14,151/yr full price (in-state) · $73,348 less before aid
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
NY · Public
$14,170/yr full price (in-state) · $73,329 less before aid
🛡️ Safer in-state options
Same state and similar selectivity, but with a more forgiving admit rate — useful safety / match anchors.
North Carolina State University at Raleigh
NC · Public
40% admit rate (vs 22% here)
University of North Carolina Wilmington
NC · Public
74% admit rate (vs 22% here)
University of North Carolina Asheville
NC · Public
94% admit rate (vs 22% here)
🚀 Stronger campus value-add
Per Opportunity Insights, these campuses add more earnings power to the students they enroll than Wake Forest University does — a quality signal, not a cost play.
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
NY · Public
12.9% mobility rate (vs 0.7% here)
CUNY City College
NY · Public
11.7% mobility rate (vs 0.7% here)
Stony Brook University
NY · Public
8.4% mobility rate (vs 0.7% here)

⚖️ Or compare any college side-by-side

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