by our College Data Analytics TeamPennsylvania Western University is a public institution in California, Pennsylvania enrolling 7,451 undergraduates. It accepts 94% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 52%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,044 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 20%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Pennsylvania Western University ranks #1,044 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 20%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
Pennsylvania Western University was awarded 137 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked PennWest University as #1,044 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list.
Within the state, PennWest University holds the #75 spot on the Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking.
See all of the rankings for Pennsylvania Western University.
With an acceptance rate of 94%, Pennsylvania Western University is easier to get into than many other schools. But that doesn’t mean you can slack off on your application. Make sure to treat this school like any other when submitting requested materials and documents.
About 21% of students accepted to PennWest University submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 480 and 580. Math scores were between 460 and 560.
PennWest University received ACT scores from 3% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 17 and 25.
Learn more about Pennsylvania Western University admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at Pennsylvania Western University is about average at 18 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Pennsylvania Western University is 81%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate tells us what percentage of first-year, full-time students choose to continue on to their sophomore year at a particular school. The rate at Pennsylvania Western University is 72%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At PennWest University the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 52%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Pennsylvania Western University.
During the most recent academic year, there were 7,451 undergraduates at PennWest University.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Pennsylvania Western University.
The average net price of PennWest University is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $13,944 | $14,171 | $16,517 | $20,633 | $23,272 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of PennWest University, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At PennWest University, approximately 60% of students took out student loans averaging $6,172 a year. That adds up to $24,688 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 5.8%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Pennsylvania Western University.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Pennsylvania Western University make around $47,295 per year during the early years of their employment. This is right on par with the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Also, graduates in your major field may make more.
See which majors at Pennsylvania Western University make the most money.
Pennsylvania Western University is an public institution situated in California, Pennsylvania. California is a great place for students who enjoy small town life. Get more details about the location of Pennsylvania Western University.
Get in touch with Pennsylvania Western University are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 250 University Avenue, California, PA 15419 |
| Phone: | 7249384000 |
| Website: | www.pennwest.edu/ |
In the latest year of available data, students from 27 majors graduated from Pennsylvania Western University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 3,267 | NA |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 270 | $30,551 |
| Health & Physical Education | 233 | $35,341 |
| Social Work | 233 | $40,649 |
| Nursing | 218 | $67,450 |
| Business Administration & Management | 184 | $42,838 |
| Library & Information Science | 164 | NA |
| Criminal Justice & Corrections | 141 | $29,293 |
| Educational Administration | 139 | $61,788 |
| Communication Sciences | 126 | $41,266 |
4,980 students took at least one online class at Pennsylvania Western University.
Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.
Learn more about online learning at Pennsylvania Western University.
Interested in comparing PennWest University? Match them up using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.