College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Western Carolina University

NCLarge public institution · Overall rank #343 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places Western Carolina University in the 77th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Western Carolina University is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina, where Business and Health Professions lead the degree mix. Mobility is well above average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes the factors it measures to adding to expected earnings, while the remainder it cannot explain subtracts from them.

Return is modestly below average. Pell Grant recipients complete at a rate slightly above the entering cohort as a whole, and access is well above average.

The lowest income band pays well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it. The admission rate is above the median for comparable institutions, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are much smaller.

Western Carolina University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
81.8%
Six-year completion[2]
60.3%
Four-year earnings[3]
$54,667

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$12,605
Median student debt[4]
$21,868
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$18,241

Western Carolina University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Western Carolina University is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina, enrolling 10,024 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the upper half of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (77th percentile).

The university admits 81.8% of applicants, a rate close to the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Retention runs below the median for comparable institutions: 79.1% return after the first year against a median of 83.1%.

Completion also trails, with 60.3% finishing within six years against a median of 65.0%. An estimated 33.8% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students.

The shape is a broad-access public campus where mobility is the strongest (86th percentile) and return the weakest (26th percentile), with access and affordability sitting between them. The four pillars are spread apart, with the strongest and weakest separated by a wide margin.

Azimuth ranks Western Carolina University on four pillars. Mobility is the strongest, at the 86th percentile.

Access and affordability sit close together, in the 81st and 79th percentiles respectively. Return is the weakest pillar, at the 26th percentile.

The shape is a public university where Pell students finish slightly above the overall cohort. Earnings four years out fall below what the model expects.

34.6% of undergraduates at Western Carolina University receive Pell Grants, a share that describes the financial-access reach of this public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,080 and 1,270.

For students who submitted ACT scores, the middle 50% ranged from 19 to 25. Azimuth ranks the university #282 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at a rate of 61.9%, which is 1.6 percentage points above the overall six-year graduation rate for the entering cohort. That completion rate for Pell students, sitting above the rate for the cohort as a whole, is the figure that shapes the access pillar here.

Azimuth ranks Western Carolina University #204 for mobility. Graduates earn about $7,916 less than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Western Carolina University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#343

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 86
Access & reach
National percentile: 81
Affordability
National percentile: 79
Return on investment
National percentile: 26

Top-ranked majors

  1. Public Administration#4
  2. Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General#11
  3. Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy#13

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Western Carolina University briefing

Western Carolina University cost & financial aid[6][7]

At Western Carolina University, the published cost and the average price after aid point to a relatively lower-cost public-university option. The standard published cost of attendance is $19,992.

In-state tuition and fees are $4,630, alongside $12,354 for room and board; out-of-state tuition and fees are $8,630. Across aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $13,315, with average financial aid savings of $6,677 against the sticker price.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $15,634, placing Western Carolina's below it by $2,319. Azimuth places the university in the 79th percentile for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

A below-peer net price and this affordability standing point in the same direction.

The published cost of attendance at Western Carolina University is $19,992. Azimuth ranks the university #300 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $8,816, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $12,605, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $17,992. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,176.

Aid covers about 33% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, bringing the average net price across all bands to $13,315. That is $2,319 below the $15,634 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

86.5% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median of $21,868 in federal student loans, $1,792 above the peer median of $20,076.

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $249 a month. Parents who borrow through the separate Parent PLUS program hold a median of $18,241.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$12,605

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Western Carolina University

Federal borrowing is widespread at Western Carolina University, with 86.5% of federal aid recipients taking federal loans. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt at completion is $21,868.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $20,076, and the university's median is $1,792 above it. For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $18,241.

Western Carolina University has its strongest Azimuth pillar in mobility, yet its investment figures call for a cautious reading. Median earnings are $54,667 four years after completion, and Azimuth places that figure in the 32nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, also falls in the 25th percentile. Graduates earn about $7,916 less than the model expects for similar students.

The downside earnings scenario is $45,193, the typical scenario is $54,667, and the upside scenario is $76,201. Median federal student loan debt at completion is $21,868, $1,792 above the $20,076 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $249 a month if repaid over ten years. Lower-than-expected earnings and above-peer debt point in the same direction.

Parent borrowers are a separate population, with median Parent PLUS borrowing of $18,241. For student borrowers, the median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $249 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$21,868
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$18,241

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$249/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$232/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Western Carolina University briefing

Western Carolina University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

At Western Carolina University, the return picture trails its access and mobility measures. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 26th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $7,916 less than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations—the gap between graduate earnings and the model’s expectation for similar students—are in the 25th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,773. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $15,689.

Median earnings are $54,667 four years after completion; Azimuth puts them in the 32nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610, leaving earnings $10,943 below it.

Western Carolina University has stronger mobility than its earnings figures suggest: federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $54,667 four years after completion. Azimuth places that earnings measure in the 32nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, using an earnings cohort of 2,644 completers.

Graduates earn about $7,916 less than the model expects for similar students. The typical modeled scenario matches the observed median, and scenarios describe the program mix rather than observed groups.

An estimated 27.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The earnings percentile and below-expected modeled gap point in the same direction, while graduate study is a separate modeled outcome.

Mobility is the strongest Azimuth pillar for Western Carolina University, while return measures focus on four-year earnings and variation across programs. Four years after completion, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $54,667, placing the figure in the 32nd percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610, with the university’s figure $10,943 below it. Graduates earn about $7,916 less than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, are in the 25th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,773.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $15,689. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $771.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 26th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Downside and upside earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from $45,193 to $76,201.

The peer comparison and modeled estimate point in the same direction. Business Administration and Management is the largest program, with 273 degrees awarded and median earnings of $57,713 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks it #266 nationally within its field among nonprofit four-year institutions. Nursing had 250 degrees awarded, median earnings of $79,533, and an Azimuth national rank of #215 within its field among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Public Administration had 90 degrees awarded and median earnings of $70,331; Azimuth ranks it #4 nationally within its field among nonprofit four-year institutions. These named programs show different earnings levels alongside their field-specific rankings.

At Western Carolina University, the modeled earnings range makes field-level results especially useful. The downside earnings scenario is $45,193 and the upside scenario is $76,201; both are estimated from the program mix rather than observed graduate groups.

Among programs, median earnings four years after completion are $86,853 in Computer Science, $83,954 in Construction Engineering Technology/Technician, and $82,500 in Engineering. Those field results show why the modeled range is broad.

At Western Carolina University, the lower average net price is one part of a mixed return picture. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $13,315.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $15,634, placing the university below it by $2,319. Completers who borrowed federal loans have median federal student loan debt of $21,868.

The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $20,076, so the university's figure is above that benchmark by $1,792. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $249 a month if repaid over ten years.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, adds another caution. Graduates earn about $7,916 less than the model expects for similar students.

Lower average net price sits alongside debt above peers and below-expected earnings.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$7,773
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$15,689
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$7,916

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Western Carolina University briefing

Western Carolina University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Western Carolina University admitted 81.8% of applicants, meaning that rate describes the share admitted from the reported applicant pool. That is above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 19,728 first-year applicants and 16,138 admitted applicants.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
81.8%
Approximate lower endpoint
1080
Reported average
1157
Approximate upper endpoint
1270

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Western Carolina University briefing

What are the largest majors at Western Carolina University?[12]

The five largest programs at Western Carolina University show a clear split between higher-earning health and technical fields and more moderate-earning business and education programs four years after completion. Nursing is the highest-earning among the largest, with a median of $79,533 across 250 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks it #215 nationally within its field. Business Administration and Management, the largest program at 273 degrees a year, reports a median of $57,713 and a national rank of #266.

At the more moderate end, Teacher Education records $47,105 across 150 degrees awarded. Azimuth places it #152 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Criminal Justice sits between the two ends, with median earnings of $55,903 and a national rank of #86.

Public Administration gives Western Carolina University its highest nationally ranked field, placing #4 in Azimuth among nonprofit four-year institutions. Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy ranks #13 nationally in Azimuth among nonprofit four-year institutions, with 27 degrees awarded and median earnings of $49,834 four years after completion.

The university has 35 ranked bachelor’s fields, so results vary materially by field.

Western Carolina University awards bachelor's degrees across 35 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 43 with published four-year earnings data. The program mix is anchored by Business, which accounts for 22.0% of degrees awarded, and Health Professions at 21.1%.

Education is a distant third at 8.1%. The largest single programs are Business Administration and Management at 273 degrees awarded, Nursing at 250, and Teacher Education at 150.

Criminal Justice and Marketing follow closely, each at 149 degrees awarded. The highest-ranked program is Public Administration, which ranks #1 in North Carolina within its field.

It awards 90 degrees a year and graduates earn a median of $70,331 four years after completion. Engineering Technologies/Technicians ranks #11 nationally and #1 in North Carolina, with 53 degrees awarded and median earnings of $78,801.

The highest-earning program is a smaller one: Computer Science graduates earn $86,853 from 21 degrees awarded a year. Construction Engineering Technology/Technician follows at $83,954 with 43 degrees awarded.

The pattern is one of concentrated strength in health and applied technical fields, with the highest-ranked and highest-earning programs sitting outside the largest degree families. The largest programs in business and education post earnings below the national median for their fields, while the strongest outcomes are in programs that graduate fewer students. 14.7% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business Administration, Management and Operations 273 degrees awarded
$57,713
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 250 degrees awarded
$79,533
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 150 degrees awarded
$47,105
Criminal Justice and Corrections 149 degrees awarded
$55,903
Marketing 149 degrees awarded
$56,568
Psychology, General 128 degrees awarded
$48,350

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Western Carolina University briefing

How does Western Carolina University serve students from different backgrounds?

Mobility is Western Carolina University’s strongest measured pillar, though its completion and earnings measures do not point in the same direction. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 60.3%, and Pell recipients complete at 61.9%, above the overall rate by 1.6 percentage points.

Azimuth places mobility in the 86th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $7,916 less than the model expects for similar students, placing earnings beyond expectations, the gap between graduate earnings and the model’s expectation for similar students, in the 25th percentile.

Several routes feed into Western Carolina University's undergraduate body of 10,024, including an estimated 33.8% who enter as transfers or part-time students. Pell Grant recipients make up 34.6% of undergraduates, another measure of financial access, and the university admits 81.8% of applicants.

Azimuth places its access pillar in the 81st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Enrollment composition and admission figures both point to access extending beyond a single entry route.

06 / Western Carolina University briefing

What colleges are similar to Western Carolina University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Western Carolina University.

Admissions peerTusculum University72.2% admitted
Comparison with Western Carolina University
MeasureWestern Carolina UniversityTusculum University
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,667$51,271-$3,396 vs Western Carolina University
Average annual net price$13,315$21,131+$7,816 vs Western Carolina University · higher cost
Admission rate81.8%72.2%
Higher-admission alternativeSouthern Wesleyan University99.5% admitted
Comparison with Western Carolina University
MeasureWestern Carolina UniversitySouthern Wesleyan University
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,667$52,228-$2,439 vs Western Carolina University
Average annual net price$13,315$15,464+$2,149 vs Western Carolina University · higher cost
Admission rate81.8%99.5%
Nearby alternativeMars Hill UniversityNearby option · NC
Comparison with Western Carolina University
MeasureWestern Carolina UniversityMars Hill University
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,667$50,256-$4,411 vs Western Carolina University
Average annual net price$13,315$19,910+$6,595 vs Western Carolina University · higher cost
Admission rate81.8%67.9%
Higher-earnings alternativeSan Jose State University$89,614 earnings
Comparison with Western Carolina University
MeasureWestern Carolina UniversitySan Jose State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,667$89,614+$34,947 vs Western Carolina University
Average annual net price$13,315$13,760+$445 vs Western Carolina University · higher cost
Admission rate81.8%84.6%
Explore San Jose State University →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of North Georgia$9,823 average net price
Comparison with Western Carolina University
MeasureWestern Carolina UniversityUniversity of North Georgia
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,667$55,974+$1,307 vs Western Carolina University
Average annual net price$13,315$9,823-$3,492 vs Western Carolina University · lower cost
Admission rate81.8%67.9%
Explore University of North Georgia →
Similar profileTroy UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Western Carolina University
MeasureWestern Carolina UniversityTroy University
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,667$55,048+$381 vs Western Carolina University
Average annual net price$13,315$16,527+$3,212 vs Western Carolina University · higher cost
Admission rate81.8%96.0%

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings