Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Private nonprofit
- City
- 5,485 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 22%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $28,165per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 90%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $104,44310 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
Beginning in fall 2026, undergraduate students from North Carolina with family incomes under $200,000 per year will attend Wake Forest University tuition-free.
Source: Affordability | Undergraduate Admissions | Wake Forest University
Wake Forest undergraduates are subject to a six-semester residency requirement, requiring students to live on campus for three academic years.
Source: A Couple of Important 'Must Know's | Parents & Families
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 22%About 2 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%)
- 1410–1520Reading + math, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- 32–34Composite, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
From Wake Forest University's own report
These numbers come from the school's Common Data Set for 2025–26, a standard report colleges publish about their applicants and first-year students. Open the report.
- Admit rate in this report
- 21%4,068 admitted of 19,600 first-year applicants
- Top 10% of their class
- 61%90% were in the top quarter. Based on the 17% whose school ranks.
What the admissions office says it weighs
Very important
- How challenging your classes were
- GPA
- Class rank
- Essay
- Character and personal qualities
Important
- Recommendations
- Interview
- Activities
- A talent or ability
Considered
- Test scores
- Being first in your family to go to college
- Family who went there (legacy)
- Where you live
- Living in the state
- Religious affiliation
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
- Showing interest in the school
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among Wake Forest University'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: Wake Forest University Common Data Set 2025–26; 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
- $28,165full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $91,202sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition
- $70,332Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 90%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 93%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $104,44310 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $19,500federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 5,485Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 12%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 12%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- Elon University Elon, NC — admits 66%
- High Point University High Point, NC — admits 75%
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA — admits 60%
- Gonzaga University Spokane, WA — admits 82%
Also worth a look
- Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA — admits 26%
- Duke University Durham, NC — admits 6%
- Dartmouth College Hanover, NH — admits 5%
- Colgate University Hamilton, NY — admits 14%
- Brown University Providence, RI — admits 5%
- Barnard College New York, NY — admits 9%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for Wake Forest University, 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.