Western Connecticut State University

Danbury, CT · Public · 3,511 undergrads (small, city) · website ↗

30% Hispanic undergrads
Test-optional
$50 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$13,507
$30,000 – $48,000	$13,716
$48,000 – $75,000	$16,697
$75,000 – $110,000	$18,737
Over $110,000	$21,318
All incomes (average)	$17,604

Sticker tuition and fees: $13,401 in-state, $16,901 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Western Connecticut State University's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$15,988
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$9,282
Books and supplies	$1,200
Other expenses, on campus	$1,462
Other expenses, off campus	$8,232

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (614 of them) in 2022–23; 84% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	63%	$7,943
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	40%	$5,130
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	48%	$4,158
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	57%	$5,306

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 87%
Average SAT: 1110
Median ACT: —
Students with Pell grants: 35%
Graduation rate (6yr): 52%
Freshman retention: 73%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $59,115
Median debt at graduation: $24,147
International undergrads: 10 (0.3%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $50
Students per faculty member: 11 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 100%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 510–580
SAT Math: 530–590
ACT composite: —

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Considered if submitted
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Required
Recommendations	Considered if submitted
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Not considered
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Not considered
Personal statement or essay	Considered if submitted
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 5,457
Admitted: 4,440
Enrolled: 711

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Business26%

Health & Nursing14%

Criminal Justice9%

Psychology8%

Visual & Performing Arts8%

Communications & Media7%

Education6%

Biology & Life Sciences4%

Social Sciences3%

English & Literature2%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (23)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Psychology, General	78	$40,077	$50,410national $50,706	$25,000
Criminal Justice and Corrections	69	$41,264	$66,510national $55,378	$19,811
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	69	$96,664	$96,483national $88,910	$25,160
Communication and Media Studies	44	$40,947	$52,385national $56,359	$24,052
Marketing	40	$43,620	$68,490national $69,303	$16,625
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	33	$42,085	$63,218national $52,119	$27,000
Management Information Systems and Services	32	$58,591	$72,291national $83,290	$22,337
Accounting and Related Services	30	$70,241	$80,895national $76,194	$24,250
Biology, General	29	$45,012	$52,458national $57,214	$20,250
Social Work	29	$41,781	$56,058national $51,790	$24,125
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	29	$23,853	$50,955national $39,775	$26,000
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	25	$45,376	—national $47,382	—
Music	25	$31,916	$35,889national $42,892	$24,997
Finance and Financial Management Services	24	$55,795	$81,768national $83,343	$23,362
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies	19	$24,412	—national $48,471	$25,500
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	17	$46,167	$56,882national $51,389	$25,448
History	17	—	$49,967national $50,680	—
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication	7	$29,878	$43,257national $50,497	—
Computer and Information Sciences, General	5	—	$118,324national $92,374	—
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	0	$40,769	$40,555national $53,072	$26,000
Leisure and Recreational Activities	—	$28,832	$39,609national $41,200	$25,000
Public Health	—	—	—national $58,808	$27,000
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	—	$48,615	$66,878national $86,176	$23,250

Master's degrees (3)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	48	$60,709	$74,783national $65,184	$30,136
Student Counseling and Personnel Services	28	$55,641	$58,337national $60,111	$40,290
Business Administration, Management and Operations	—	—	$88,576national $103,485	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 46 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 181 White Street, Danbury, CT 06810-6826
Phone: (203) 837-8200
Institutional accreditor: New England Commission on Higher Education

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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