How this school serves students from different economic backgrounds, including Pell students, first-generation pathways, and long-term mobility outcomes.
Winston-Salem State University achieves excellent access performance, ranking at the 95th percentile with top-tier designation. The university maintains a 68.5% admission rate placing it in the Moderately Selective category while enrolling 61.5% Pell-eligible students and 35.4% first-generation students. Transfer students comprise 29.8% of enrollment, reflecting pathways for diverse educational backgrounds. Test scores rank at the 85th percentile nationally with well above average tier performance, demonstrating that Winston-Salem State University maintains academic quality while serving diverse populations. This combination positions Winston-Salem State University among the most effective access institutions nationally, balancing selectivity with opportunity for underrepresented students.
Winston-Salem State University's mobility profile demonstrates the institution's effectiveness in converting broad educational access into meaningful economic advancement for diverse student populations. The combination of 61.5% Pell enrollment with earnings beyond expectations of $5,989 illustrates how the university serves its mission as a historically black institution committed to economic mobility. The positive Pell completion gap indicates institutional systems particularly effective for first-generation and lower-income students, creating pathways for intergenerational economic advancement.
Winston-Salem State University demonstrates strong mobility performance, ranking at the 84.8th percentile nationally with well above average tier designation. As an Under-Resourced Institution in Azimuth's mobility quadrant framework, the university emphasizes broad educational access and degree attainment for students who might otherwise lack higher education opportunities. Low-income graduates earn $34,200, reflecting the institution's effectiveness in serving economically disadvantaged populations. The university generates $5,989 in earnings beyond expectations, indicating strong performance relative to student demographics and backgrounds. Pell-eligible students complete degrees at 54.8% compared to 48.5% overall completion, creating a positive 6.3 percentage point gap that demonstrates particularly effective support for lower-income students. This reverse completion gap is unusual among four-year institutions and highlights Winston-Salem State University's institutional commitment to student success across economic backgrounds.
Pell-eligible students at Winston-Salem State University complete degrees at 54.8% compared to the overall completion rate of 48.5%, creating a positive 6.3 percentage point gap. This reverse gap indicates that lower-income students actually outperform the general student population in degree completion, suggesting targeted support systems and programming that effectively serve economically disadvantaged students. The positive Pell gap is uncommon among four-year institutions and demonstrates Winston-Salem State University's particular institutional effectiveness in supporting students who typically face the greatest barriers to college completion.
