Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, MI
Western Michigan University is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a small city, with 12,568 undergraduates. Interdisciplinary studies is its signature field: 6% of its bachelor's degrees, about twice its share across the colleges we cover. 58% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $53,562 ten years after starting.
Western Michigan University admitted 17,853 of 20,927 applicants for the fall 2025 entering class (85.3%).
- Acceptance rate
- 85.3%
- Fall 2025 class
- In-state tuition
- $15,252
- $19,034 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $15,273
- Average, students with aid
- SAT, middle 50%
- 960–1200
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 2025 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What Western Michigan University is known for
Measured by the 3,549 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Interdisciplinary studies
6.3%
of its bachelor's degrees: about twice the 2.9% share across the colleges we cover.
- Finance and Financial Management Services2376.7% of degrees$72,353−13% vs $83,343 nationally
- Marketing2276.4% of degrees$71,371About the $69,303 national median
- Business Administration, Management and Operations2136.0% of degrees$75,143+10% vs $68,257 nationally
- Air Transportation2075.8% of degrees$89,564About the $85,825 national median
- Accounting and Related Services1775.0% of degrees$66,666−13% vs $76,194 nationally
- Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies (other)1714.8% of degrees$54,597About the $55,693 national median
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
Kalamazoo, MI
Undergraduates
12,568
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Doctoral university, high research activity
Living on campus
A quarter to half
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
16 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
4%
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 Michigan University
Three things Western Michigan 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.
Early Action admitted 89.5%. The regular round admitted 62.5%.
1.4×
the regular-round rate
A ratio between two rates the school published. Not a change in anyone’s odds.
15,831 of 17,691 early applicants were admitted, against 2,022 of 3,236 in the regular round. Early Action is not binding, so the earlier deadline is the whole cost of applying in this round.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
1.4×
the regular-round rate
A ratio between two rates the school published. Not a change in anyone’s odds.
Western Michigan University reports that test scores are not considered at all.
That is the school’s own answer on the form it fills in every year. A score you send is not read as part of the decision here.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Families paid $15,273 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
85.3%
17,853 admitted of 20,927 applicants
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
SAT, middle 50%
960–1200
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
ACT, middle 50%
21–28
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Average GPA of admitted students
3.55
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
50.1%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
3.6%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Where do you actually stand at Western Michigan 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 Michigan 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 $15,252 ($19,034 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $29,237. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $15,273 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$15,252
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$19,034
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$29,237
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$15,273
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $29,237 full cost.
- Under $30k$5,263Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$5,734Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$13,833Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$18,307Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$23,625Typical 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
58%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
81%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$53,562
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$26,188
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 Michigan University says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- GPAvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Course rigorimportant
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Essayconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Recommendationsconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Class rankconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Not considered
- Test scores
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Legacy
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Demonstrated interest
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
The early round, in counts
Two published rates side by side. Early applicants are a different group of students, so the gap is a fact about those pools, not a lever anyone can pull.
Early Action
1.4× the rateEarly Action admitted 89.5% (15,831 of 17,691), against 62.5% in the regular round.
2,022 of 3,236 in the comparison pool.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Essays on this application
1 essay prompt on the application: 1 is not yet confirmed.
A prompt we have not yet confirmed is counted on its own rather than called optional, treating an unconfirmed prompt as optional is how a student skips an essay their college expects.
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
- Early ActionDecember 1, 2026
Verified October 10, 2026 · Source
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in Michigan
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- Michigan Technological University85.5%
- Eastern Michigan University85.9%
- Northwood University83.9%
- Wayne State University83.6%
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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