How this school serves students from different economic backgrounds, including Pell students, first-generation pathways, and long-term mobility outcomes.
Wichita State University achieves above average access performance at the 65.8th percentile, reflecting solid commitment to educational opportunity for diverse student populations. The university maintains an open admission policy with a 94.9% acceptance rate, removing selectivity barriers while enrolling 29.7% Pell-eligible students and 36.3% first-generation students. Transfer students comprise 44.1% of enrollment, indicating effectiveness in serving students beginning their college journey at community colleges or other institutions. Despite accessible admission, enrolled students demonstrate strong academic preparation with SAT scores at the 90th percentile nationally, creating an environment where access coexists with academic readiness for college-level work.
The relationship between access and mobility at Wichita State reflects the university's mission effectiveness in serving diverse learners while creating pathways for economic advancement. The combination of open admission, significant enrollment of underrepresented students, and exceptional earnings beyond expectations creates conditions where educational opportunity translates into career value. The earnings distribution from $33,001 to $72,524 provides mobility potential across income levels, while the university's program diversity in engineering, business, healthcare, and education supports various career advancement pathways for students from different economic backgrounds.
Wichita State University demonstrates well above average mobility performance at the 75.6th percentile, indicating effectiveness in converting educational access into economic advancement for diverse students. As an Opportunity Builder institution, the university combines accessible admission with strong earnings outcomes that support upward economic mobility. Low-income graduates earn $41,400, while the exceptional earnings beyond expectations performance at the 92.1st percentile shows the university's effectiveness in helping students achieve more than predicted based on their backgrounds. Pell-eligible students graduate at 45.2% compared to the overall 51.4% completion rate, creating a 6.2 percentage point gap that suggests challenges for lower-income students but still represents substantial degree completion for this population. The university's 29.7% Pell share combined with strong earnings uplift demonstrates meaningful pathways for economic mobility through higher education access and completion.
Pell-eligible students graduate at 45.2% compared to the overall completion rate of 51.4%, creating a 6.2 percentage point gap that indicates additional challenges for lower-income students in degree completion. While this gap suggests room for improvement in supporting Pell recipients through graduation, nearly half of Pell-eligible students do successfully complete degrees, representing meaningful educational mobility for students from lower-income families.
