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Widener University: Rankings, Admissions, Cost & Majors

132 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
71% Acceptance Rate

Widener University is a private not-for-profit institution in Chester, Pennsylvania enrolling 2,951 undergraduates. It accepts 71% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 68%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #347 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 7%), 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.

How Is Widener University Ranked?

Widener University ranks #347 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 7%.

#347 Best Colleges in Nation
#23 Best Colleges in PA
Widener University ranking badge

2027 Rankings

In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.

Widener University was awarded 132 badges in the 2027 rankings.

Overall Quality

According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, Widener is ranked #347 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.

Widener is also ranked #23 on the Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.

See all of the rankings for Widener University.

Is It Hard to Get Into Widener University?

71% Acceptance Rate
75% Of Accepted Are Women
9% Submit SAT Scores

Acceptance Rate

The acceptance rate at Widener University is 71%. That’s higher than the rate at many schools, but still low enough to be considered somewhat selective. If you want to get in, you’ll need good grades and to be able to show that Widener is a good fit for you.

Average Test Scores

About 9% of students accepted to Widener submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 550 and 650. Math scores were between 530 and 640.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Widener University  ( 550 to 650 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for Widener University  ( 530 to 640 )
200
800

Learn more about Widener University admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at Widener University?

11 to 1 Student to Faculty
39% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

The student to faculty ratio at Widener is an impressive 11 to 1. That’s quite good when you compare it to the national average of 15 to 1. This is a good sign that students at the school will have more opportunities for one-on-one interactions with their professors.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at Widener University is 39%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  39 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at Widener University?

78% Freshmen Retention
68% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

Widener University has a freshmen retention rate of 78%. 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.

Freshmen Retention Rate  78 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Widener for first-time, full-time students is 68%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  68 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Widener University.

How Diverse Is Widener University?

2,951 Undergraduate Students
43.9% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
61.8% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 2,951 undergraduates at Widener.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Widener University.

How Much Does Widener University Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
72% Take Out Loans
$26,820 Total Student Loans

The average net price of Widener 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.

Net Price by Income Group for Widener

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$21,200 $22,275 $22,514 $25,900 $32,296

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 Widener, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

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 Widener, approximately 72% of students took out student loans averaging $6,705 a year. That adds up to $26,820 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 4.2%. 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 Widener University.

How Much Do Widener University Graduates Earn?

$70,920 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Widener University make around $70,920 per year during the early years of their employment. This is good news for future Widener University graduates since it is 44% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Average Salary for Widener University Graduates

See which majors at Widener University make the most money.

Where Is Widener University Located?

Pennsylvania State
2,951 Undergraduate Students
Suburb Campus Setting

Widener University is a private not-for-profit institution situated in Chester, Pennsylvania. Chester is considered a suburb and offers tranquility and safety near the excitement of a city center. Get more details about the location of Widener University.

Location of Widener University

Contact details for Widener University are given below.

Contact Details
Address: One University Place, Chester, PA 19013-5792
Phone: 6104994000
Website: www.widener.edu
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widener_University
Facebook: www.facebook.com/wideneruniversity
Twitter: twitter.com/wideneruniv

What Majors Does Widener University Offer?

20 Majors With Completions
3,100 Undergraduate Degrees

During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 20 majors graduated from Widener 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 1,550 NA
Law 312 $50,960
Social Work 206 $47,338
Nursing 190 $71,116
Business Administration & Management 85 $63,483
Rehabilitation Professions 76 NA
Clinical & Counseling Psychology 58 NA
Public Health 58 NA
General Psychology 53 $32,142
Mechanical Engineering 37 $64,959

Learn more about the majors offered at Widener University along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Does Widener Offer Online Classes?

20% Take At Least One Class Online
5% Take All Classes Online

578 students took at least one online class at Widener University.

Online courses are a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.

Learn more about online learning at Widener University.

Want to see how other colleges compare to Widener? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.

Notes and References

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

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