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🎓 College profile

Wells College

NY · Private nonprofit · Distant rural · 1,532 applicants 2023

70% admit rate
Get your child's odds at Wells College Free Family Decision Report — Reach / Match / Likely + your real net price. Wells College starts already on the list. Start →

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants.

✅ Best for

  • Students drawn to Psychology or Biological & Biomedical Sciences (the two biggest majors)

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
Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus
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.
69.6%
Accessible
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

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

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Wells College

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

1. Psychology
12 degrees · 30.0%
Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.
2. Biological & Biomedical Sciences
9 degrees · 22.5%
Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.
3. Social Sciences
7 degrees · 17.5%
Economics + poli sci sub-disciplines pay much more than sociology + anthropology.
4. English Language & Literature
6 degrees · 15.0%
Writing-heavy roles. Variance is huge — corporate technical writers pay 2× journalists.
5. Business, Management, & Marketing
6 degrees · 15.0%
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.

💼 What those majors earn here

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Wells College's own graduates, not national averages.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Business Administration, Management and Operations. Bachelor's Degree 9 $41,360 $56,205
Biology, General. Bachelor's Degree 17 $35,728 $50,801
Psychology, General. Bachelor's Degree 4 $35,578 $43,371

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
0.8%
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.
2.5%
bottom 20% → top 20% by age 32
Upward rate
32.2%
of lower-income students who reach the top 20%

Full leaderboards: /college-mobility →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at Wells College

CS degrees (annual)
1
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

Alternatives to Wells College

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
Texas Tech University
TX · Public
30 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
The University of Alabama
AL · Public
21 stats-based + 2 competitive scholarships
🛡️ Safer in-state options
Same state and similar selectivity, but with a more forgiving admit rate — useful safety / match anchors.
State University of New York at Oswego
NY · Public
80% admit rate (vs 70% here)
CUNY New York City College of Technology
NY · Public
81% admit rate (vs 70% here)
SUNY College of Technology at Alfred
NY · Public
82% admit rate (vs 70% here)
🚀 Stronger campus value-add
Per Opportunity Insights, these campuses add more earnings power to the students they enroll than Wells College does — a quality signal, not a cost play.
CUNY City College
NY · Public
11.7% mobility rate (vs 2.5% here)
Pace University
NY · Private nonprofit
8.4% mobility rate (vs 2.5% here)
CUNY New York City College of Technology
NY · Public
8.3% mobility rate (vs 2.5% here)

⚖️ Or compare any college side-by-side

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