Skip to content
Best College Rankings

Private nonprofit · Urban campus · verified rankings · federal data

Wake Forest University

Students comparing Wake Forest University on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

CompareOfficial site
Winston-Salem, North Carolina5,485 undergraduatesMean consensus percentile 20Private nonprofitSelectiveUrban campus

The short answer

Wake Forest University: U.S. News ranks it #51 on National Universities (2026); Forbes ranks it #98 on America's Top Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #108 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #137 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #60 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 4.5 stars; Princeton Review lists it on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); QS ranks it #806 on World University Rankings (2026). It enrolls 5,485 undergraduates, admits 21.7% of applicants, and posts a 89.1% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $67,642; aid recipients pay $28,719 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $78,158.

The six numbers that matter most

Acceptance rate
21.7%

Below the dataset median of 76%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Average net price
$28,719

67% below the $86,136 published price

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardAverage for full-time first-time aid recipients, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median earnings, 10 yrs
$78,158

Above the dataset median of $54,053

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian earnings 10 years after entry, working and not enrolled, College Scorecard June 2026 release

6-year graduation rate
89.1%

Above the dataset median of 56%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent six-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median debt at graduation
$21,500

Above the dataset median of $23,250

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian federal loan debt of completers, College Scorecard June 2026 release

SAT middle 50%
1410–1520

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardSum of reported reading and math section percentiles for the most recent entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release. Section percentiles added together approximate, but do not exactly equal, the composite score range.

Where Wake Forest ranks, and why the answers differ

Each publisher's position, the list it belongs to, and how many institutions it was drawn from.

SourceListRank
US News2026National Universities#51of 436National universities
Forbes2026America's Top Colleges#98of 500Top colleges (Forbes)
Washington Monthly2026Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars#108of 1,504Tuition & tax value (WM)
WSJ2026Best Colleges in the U.S.#137of 500U.S. colleges (WSJ)
Niche2026Best Colleges (Overall)A+#60of 2,605Overall (Niche)
Money2026Best Value Colleges4.5 starsListedBest value (Money)
Princeton Review2026Best Colleges (Overall)ListedOverall (Niche)
QS2026World University Rankings#806of 1,504World (QS)

Methodology sensitivity: Wake Forest's position moves 51 percentile points depending on which published list you read. That is a wide spread, so which list you consult substantially changes the impression you get. How we compute this

Ranking positions are the editorial property of their publishers and are reproduced here with attribution for comparison and commentary. Follow each source link for its full list and methodology.

About Wake Forest

Wake Forest University is a private nonprofit institution in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Federal data show 92.6% first-year retention and a 9:1 student-faculty ratio. Figures on this page come from College Scorecard and IPEDS; publisher rankings shown here are transcribed from named sources and checked in our dataset.

Strengths and honest considerations

Strengths

  • Cost and outcome metrics on this profile come directly from federal collections, not self-reported marketing sheets.
  • Net price $28,719 reflects what aid recipients actually paid in the most recent federal reporting year.

Considerations

  • This school may not appear on every publisher list we track; an empty rankings table means no tracked publisher ranked it, not missing federal data.
  • Compare $86,136 sticker cost against $28,719 net price before ruling a school in or out on price alone.
  • Publishers we have not loaded yet, or lists that omit this school, show as “not ranked by this source” — that is expected.

Who this school genuinely fits

Students comparing Wake Forest University on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

What it costs

Published price, then what families actually pay after grants and scholarships.

Tuition & fees
$67,642

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Undergraduates on Pell grants
10.1%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardShare of undergraduates, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Room & board
$18,494

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Published cost of attendance comes to roughly $86,136 a year, but the average family pays $28,719 — a 67% difference. 10.1% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, the federal marker of low family income.

Net price varies enormously by income band, so run Wake Forest's net price calculator for your own household before drawing conclusions. Why net price is the only cost number that matters.

Programs and academics

Most popular majors

  1. 1Business
  2. 2Biology
  3. 3Psychology
  4. 4Computer Science
  5. 5Economics

Standout programs

    Student-faculty ratio
    9:1

    IPEDS / National Center for Education StatisticsIPEDS 2023 fall enrollment

    First-year retention
    92.6%

    U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent first-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

    Undergraduate enrollment
    5,485

    U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

    Wake Forest: questions families ask

    Out-of-state tuition is $67,642 and on-campus room and board is $18,494, for a published total of $86,136 before aid. The average net price for first-time full-time students receiving aid is $28,719.

    The most recent federal admissions rate reported to the Department of Education is 21.7%. Test policy as reported in IPEDS: see the admissions section on this page for the institution's own category.

    Similar colleges

    Matched on institutional character, overlapping majors and comparable cross-source standing.

    Trinity University

    San Antonio, TXPrivate nonprofit

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    Trinity University: U.S. News ranks it #40 on National Liberal Arts Colleges (2026); Forbes ranks it #82 on America's Top Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #476 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #212 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #65 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 4 stars; Princeton Review lists it on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026) — #11 Best Science Lab Facilities. It enrolls 2,505 undergraduates, admits 25.9% of applicants, and posts a 84.0% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $53,676; aid recipients pay $23,464 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $71,668.

    Acceptance rate
    25.9%
    Average net price
    $23,464
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $71,668
    6-yr graduation rate
    84.0%
    US News · Liberal arts colleges#40 of 210Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#82 of 500Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#476 of 1,504+4 more on profile

    2,505 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 22 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    University of Rochester

    Rochester, NYPrivate nonprofit

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    University of Rochester: U.S. News ranks it #46 on National Universities (2026); Forbes ranks it #69 on America's Top Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #194 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #316 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #111 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 4.5 stars; Princeton Review lists it on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026) — #23 Best College Library; QS ranks it #236 on World University Rankings (2026). It enrolls 6,331 undergraduates, admits 40.1% of applicants, and posts a 85.4% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $67,080; aid recipients pay $29,278 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $79,042.

    Acceptance rate
    40.1%
    Average net price
    $29,278
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $79,042
    6-yr graduation rate
    85.4%
    US News · National universities#46 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#69 of 500Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#194 of 1,504+5 more on profile

    6,331 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 20 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    Brigham Young University

    Provo, UTPrivate nonprofit

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    Brigham Young University: U.S. News ranks it #110 on National Universities (2026); Forbes ranks it #40 on America's Top Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #25 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #63 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #92 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 4.5 stars; Princeton Review lists it on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026) — #1 College Library; QS ranks it #1023 on World University Rankings (2026). It enrolls 32,952 undergraduates, admits 67.8% of applicants, and posts a 81.0% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $6,688; aid recipients pay $15,564 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $75,790.

    Acceptance rate
    67.8%
    Average net price
    $15,564
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $75,790
    6-yr graduation rate
    81.0%
    US News · National universities#110 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#40 of 500Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#25 of 1,504+5 more on profile

    32,952 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 20 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    Compare Wake Forest against these