Illinois Wesleyan University

Overview

Rankings

• #4 Best Business Colleges in Illinois
• #6 Best Biology Colleges in Illinois
• #17 Best Colleges in Illinois
• #18 Best Bachelor's Programs in Illinois
• #18 Best Master's Programs in Illinois
• #18 Best Psychology Colleges in Illinois
• #23 Best Nursing Colleges in Illinois
• #24 Best Education Colleges in Illinois

Academics & Admissions

Is It Hard to Get Into Illinois Wesleyan University? Acceptance Rate & Requirements

Based in Bloomington, Illinois, Illinois Wesleyan University reviews applications selectively. The acceptance rate runs near 39%. Admitted students typically arrive with an average SAT score near 1,275. The graduation rate is roughly 78%.

Acceptance Rate

39%

Retention Rate

80%

SAT Average

1275

ACT Midpoint

27

SAT Range

1120–1340

ACT Range

25–30

Full-Time Faculty

56%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$8,828

Student–Faculty Ratio

11:1

Diversity Index

0.56

First-Gen Students

18%

Applicants

4,408

Admitted

1,861

Inside the Admissions Office

School-reported Common Data Set · 2024-25

The acceptance rate tells you how hard Illinois Wesleyan University is to get into. Its Common Data Set tells you what happens once you are admitted: how many students say yes, how many arrived without test scores, and whether applying early tilts the odds. 12% of admitted students go on to enroll here, making it a school most admitted students ultimately pass on.

Yield Rate

12%

of admits enroll

Submitted SAT

21%

of enrolled freshmen

Submitted ACT

10%

of enrolled freshmen

Cost & Financial Aid

How Much Does It Cost to Attend Illinois Wesleyan University? Tuition, Net Price & Aid

Published tuition at Illinois Wesleyan University is $57,704, but few families pay that. The number to watch is net price, what students actually pay each year after federal grants and institutional scholarships. Here it averages about $28,199. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $17,732 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $27,000 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$57,704

Out-of-State

$57,704

Avg Net Price

$28,199

Median Debt

$27,000

Pell Grant Rate

26%

Federal Loan Rate

63%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at Illinois Wesleyan University — the net price for your income, your admission odds, and the outcomes that follow. These are patterns from federal data, not predictions.

Graduate Outcomes

Is Illinois Wesleyan University Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of Illinois Wesleyan University earn a median of $70,871, well above the national average for bachelor's degree holders.

6 Years After Entry

$56,082

8 Years

$64,974

10 Years

$70,871

Debt-to-Earnings

0.38x

Earning > $25K

77%

Social Mobility

Data: Raj Chetty's Mobility Report Card · 30M+ anonymized tax records

Does Illinois Wesleyan University Drive Upward Mobility? Economic Mobility & Low-Income Outcomes

Illinois Wesleyan University is a measurable contributor to upward mobility. Its mobility rate, the share of students who start in the bottom income quintile and climb to the top, is 1.08%, in line with strong performers nationally. Access is narrower: only about 2% of students come from the bottom income quintile, typical of more selective, higher-income institutions. Among bottom-quintile students who attend, roughly 53.9% go on to reach the top of the income ladder. The median family income of students sits near $120,900, a snapshot of the campus's socioeconomic mix.

Mobility Rate

1.08%

Bottom 20% → Top 20%

Success Rate

53.9%

If bottom 20% get in

From Bottom 20%

2.0%

Share of students

Parent Median Income

$164,261

today's $ (2015 cohort data)

Social Capital

Data: Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas

How Connected Is Illinois Wesleyan University? Social Capital & Cross-Class Networks

Social capital, the web of cross-class friendships that researchers link to long-run upward mobility, runs high at Illinois Wesleyan University. Its economic connectedness score is 1.76, where about 1.0 is the national norm. Its friending bias is low (-0.00), a sign that students from different economic backgrounds actually mix rather than self-segregate. Around 10% of students take part in civic and volunteering activity.

Economic Connectedness

1.76

Cross-class friendships

Friending Bias

-0.00

Lower = more inclusive

Volunteering Rate

9.8%

Support Ratio

1.00

Community support

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Federal Grants

$1,377,203

Investment Income

$7,070,304

Top Programs

The fields Illinois Wesleyan University awards the most degrees in, by share of completions. Where federal field-of-study data exists, we show what graduates in that major earned early in their careers. Each links to its degree guide — or see what someone with your income, scores, and major would pay and earn here in the Students Like You simulator.

• Business & Marketing 29% $74,609 early-career
• Biology & Biomedical 14% $31,771 early-career
• Health Professions 11% $74,589 early-career
• Psychology 8% $37,207 early-career
• Education 6% $51,598 early-career
• Social Sciences 5% $73,093 early-career
• Visual & Performing Arts 5% $32,603 early-career
• Mathematics & Statistics 4% $52,703 early-career

Early-career median earnings by major (typically 1–2 years after completion, bachelor's level where available), in today's dollars (CPI-adjusted). Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard field of study. Distinct from the school-wide 10-year median; suppressed for small programs.