Western Connecticut State University
Danbury, CT
Western Connecticut State University is a public university in Danbury, Connecticut, a small city, with 3,511 undergraduates. Criminal justice is its signature field: 9% of its bachelor's degrees, about four times its share across the colleges we cover. 52% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $59,115 ten years after starting.
Western Connecticut State University admitted 4,440 of 5,457 applicants for the fall 2023 entering class (81.4%).
- Acceptance rate
- 81.4%
- Fall 2023 class
- In-state tuition
- $13,401
- $16,901 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $17,604
- Average, students with aid
- ACT, middle 50%
- 20–27
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2023 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What Western Connecticut State University is known for
Measured by the 847 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Criminal justice
9.0%
of its bachelor's degrees: about four times the 2.2% share across the colleges we cover.
- Business Administration, Management and Operations819.6% of degreesToo few graduates to publish
- Criminal Justice and Corrections769.0% of degrees$66,510+20% vs $55,378 nationally
- Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing748.7% of degrees$96,483+9% vs $88,910 nationally
- Psychology688.0% of degrees$50,410About the $50,706 national median
- Marketing465.4% of degrees$68,490About the $69,303 national median
- Social Work455.3% of degrees$56,058+8% vs $51,790 nationally
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Small city
Danbury, CT
Undergraduates
3,511
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Master's university, medium programs
Living on campus
A quarter to half
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
11 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
1%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at Western Connecticut State University
Two things Western Connecticut State University published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
4% of the enrolled class sent an SAT.
The SAT band on this page describes that share of the class, not all of it. Another 1% sent an ACT. Western Connecticut State University files test scores under “considered”.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Families paid $17,604 on average after aid.
Averaged across students who received federal aid: the price after grants and scholarships, not the sticker price.
Source: the College Scorecard
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
81.4%
4,440 admitted of 5,457 applicants
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
SAT, middle 50%
Reading 440–600Math 400–550
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
ACT, middle 50%
20–27
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
4%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
1%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Where do you actually stand at Western Connecticut State University?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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What Western Connecticut State University costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
In-state tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $13,401 ($16,901 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $24,877. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $17,604 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$13,401
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$16,901
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$24,877
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$17,604
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $24,877 full cost.
- Under $30k$13,507Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$13,716Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$16,697Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$18,737Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$21,318Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
52%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
73%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$59,115
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$24,147
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
What Western Connecticut State University says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Course rigorrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- GPArequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Essayconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Recommendationsconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Class rankconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Not considered
- Legacy
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
- Early ActionApril 1, 2027
Verified July 17, 2026
- Rolling AdmissionJuly 1, 2027
Verified July 17, 2026 · Source
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in Connecticut
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- Southern Connecticut State University81.1%
- Eastern Connecticut State University80.5%
- University of New Haven80.5%
- University of Hartford83%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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