University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
- Public
- City
- 36,902 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 45%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $16,600per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 90%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $80,33010 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
Bucky's Tuition Promise pays tuition and segregated fees for four years for new Wisconsin residents whose household income is $65,000 or less. Assets don't count, and there's no separate application, only the FAFSA (and, for fall 2026 entrants, the CSS Profile).
For Pell-eligible Wisconsin residents, Bucky's Pell Pathway goes further: grants, scholarships and work-study that meet full financial need, including housing and food, for four years.
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 45%About 5 in 10 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test-optionalScores are considered if you send them, but not required.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- 1380–1520Reading + math, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- 29–33Composite, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among University of Wisconsin-Madison's first-year students. This isn't a prediction: it shows how you compare with students who enrolled, using the sources linked below.
Leave out anything you don't have. Your numbers stay in this browser and fill in on other school pages. See my list
Sources: College Scorecard. Test ranges describe enrolled students who sent scores.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $16,600full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $29,943sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition, in-state
- $12,166Source: College Scorecard
- Tuition, out-of-state
- $44,191Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 90%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 96%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $80,33010 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $18,375federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 36,902Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 19%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 17%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA — admits 61%
- Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH — admits 61%
- University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN — admits 80%
- Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN — admits 78%
Also worth a look
- North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC — admits 42%
- University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD — admits 45%
- The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN — admits 42%
- University of California-Davis Davis, CA — admits 42%
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL — admits 42%
- Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN — admits 50%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for University of Wisconsin-Madison, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
Spot something wrong? Report a data error.