by our College Data Analytics TeamWake Forest University is a private not-for-profit institution in Winston-Salem, North Carolina enrolling 5,485 undergraduates. It accepts 22% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 89%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #57 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 1%), 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.
Wake Forest University ranks #57 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 1%.
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.
Wake Forest University was awarded 635 badges in the 2027 rankings.
Wake Forest University is ranked #57 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation.
Wake Forest University also holds the #3 spot on the Best Colleges in North Carolina ranking.
See all of the rankings for Wake Forest University.
With an acceptance rate of 22%, Wake Forest University is one of the most selective schools in the country. Good grades and high test scores alone may not be enough to get you into the school, so do your best to submit a stellar application.
About 22% of students accepted to Wake Forest University submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 700 and 750. Math scores were between 710 and 770.
Wake Forest University received ACT scores from 26% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 32 and 34.
Learn more about Wake Forest University admissions.
At Wake Forest University, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 10 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.
In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Wake Forest University is 76%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
Wake Forest University has a freshmen retention rate of 93%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Wake Forest University for first-time, full-time students is 89%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Wake Forest University.
The current enrollment includes 5,485 undergraduates at Wake Forest University.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Wake Forest University.
The overall average net price of Wake Forest 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $6,525 | $6,331 | $7,647 | $12,771 | $58,081 |
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 Wake Forest University, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At Wake Forest University, approximately 14% of students took out student loans averaging $6,083 a year. That adds up to $24,332 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 0.8%. 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 Wake Forest University.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Wake Forest University with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $78,158 in their early years. This is good news for future Wake Forest University graduates since it is 59% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Wake Forest University make the most money.
Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life. Get more details about the location of Wake Forest University.
Get in touch with Wake Forest University are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 1834 Wake Forest Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27106 |
| Phone: | 3367585000 |
| Website: | www.wfu.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wake_Forest_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/wfuniversity |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/WakeForest1834 |
In the latest year of available data, students from 24 majors graduated from Wake Forest 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 | 3,089 | NA |
| Management Sciences & Methods | 298 | $77,362 |
| Business Administration & Management | 252 | $86,086 |
| Communication & Media Studies | 178 | $43,695 |
| Law | 158 | $58,731 |
| Economics | 158 | $57,100 |
| General Psychology | 153 | $26,694 |
| Finance & Financial Management | 143 | $73,169 |
| Medicine | 142 | $56,086 |
| Student Counseling | 141 | $40,913 |
145 students took at least one online class at Wake Forest University.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at Wake Forest University.
Want to see how other colleges compare to Wake Forest University? Pit them head to head with College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
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.
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