Wheaton College
Wheaton, IL
Wheaton College is a private liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb of a large city, with 2,121 undergraduates. Social sciences and theology are its signature fields: together they make up 24% of its bachelor's degrees, about three times their share across the colleges we cover. 85% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $63,756 ten years after starting.
Wheaton College admitted 1,679 of 1,866 applicants for the fall 2023 entering class (90%).
- Acceptance rate
- 90%
- Fall 2023 class
- Tuition and fees
- $45,546
- 2024–25 school year
- Paid after aid
- $26,975
- Average, students with aid
- ACT, middle 50%
- 27–32
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 Wheaton College is known for
Measured by the 647 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Social sciences
16.1%
of its bachelor's degrees: about twice the 8.0% share across the colleges we cover.
Theology
7.9%
of its bachelor's degrees: about 79 times the 0.1% share across the colleges we cover.
- Business/Managerial Economics7411.4% of degrees$80,258About the $77,981 national median
- Psychology568.7% of degrees$49,974About the $50,706 national median
- English Language and Literature355.4% of degrees$52,647+8% vs $48,590 nationally
- Communication and Media Studies345.3% of degrees$60,695+8% vs $56,359 nationally
- Bible/Biblical Studies335.1% of degreesToo few graduates to publish
- Mathematics314.8% of degreesToo few graduates to publish
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
Suburb of a large city
Wheaton, IL
Undergraduates
2,121
Fall 2024
Type
Private, nonprofit
Baccalaureate college, arts and sciences focus
Living on campus
Half or more
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
10 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 Wheaton College
Two things Wheaton College 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.
26% of the enrolled class sent an SAT.
The SAT band on this page describes that share of the class, not all of it. Another 19% sent an ACT. Wheaton College files test scores under “considered”.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Families paid $26,975 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
90%
1,679 admitted of 1,866 applicants
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
SAT, middle 50%
Reading 650–720Math 610–720
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
ACT, middle 50%
27–32
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
26%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
19%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Where do you actually stand at Wheaton College?
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 Wheaton College costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
Tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $45,546, and the full cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $59,263. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $26,975 a year on average.
Tuition and fees
$45,546
2024–25 school year
Full cost of attendance
$59,263
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$26,975
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $59,263 full cost.
- Under $30k$20,001Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$18,587Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$20,553Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$24,176Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$33,435Typical 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
85%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
93%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$63,756
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$23,250
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 Wheaton College 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
- Recommendationsrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Essayconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Class rankconsidered
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 ActionOctober 15, 2026
Verified August 19, 2026
- Early Action 2November 15, 2026
Verified August 19, 2026
- Regular DecisionJanuary 15, 2027
Verified August 19, 2026
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in Illinois
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- Southern Illinois University-Carbondale90.4%
- Columbia College Chicago91.2%
- Trinity Christian College88.7%
- Eureka College88.5%
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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