West Chester University of Pennsylvania

What are the graduation rates for students at West Chester University of Pennsylvania?

West Chester University's reported six-year graduation rate is 71% for the tracked cohort of first-time, full-time degree-seeking undergraduates. Its four-year rate is 53%. These figures describe different points in the same kind of completion timeline, not the share of all students who will eventually earn a degree.

The reported first-year retention rate is 83%, indicating the share of the relevant first-time cohort that returned the following year. These measures do not directly describe transfer students, part-time entrants or individual majors. For a student comparing costs, the difference between four- and six-year completion is consequential: additional semesters can mean more tuition and living expenses even when a student ultimately graduates.

What is the earning potential for graduates at West Chester University of Pennsylvania?

College Scorecard program figures report earnings measured about one year after completion for the covered former students, not a guaranteed starting salary for everyone in a major. The figures are best read as program-level comparisons for the federally aided students represented in the data, subject to the Scorecard's reporting and privacy rules.

For example, the reported one-year median is $68,346 for registered nursing and $58,034 for general computer and information sciences. Accounting is reported at $56,184, while general psychology is reported at $29,838. Differences can reflect occupations, further study, location, hours worked and which completers are included; they do not isolate the effect of attending WCU.

Early earnings are also an incomplete measure of a program's value. Someone entering graduate school or a field with a long licensing pathway may have a very different first-year pattern from someone taking a full-time job immediately. Applicants should compare the credential level and occupation they intend to pursue, as well as expected debt, rather than treating a single earnings figure as a forecast of their own income.