by our College Data Analytics TeamWilkes University is a private not-for-profit institution in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania enrolling 1,985 undergraduates. It accepts 91% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 63%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #373 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.
Wilkes University ranks #373 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 7%.
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
Wilkes University was awarded 51 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked Wilkes as #373 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.
Wilkes also holds the #26 spot on the Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking.
See all of the rankings for Wilkes University.
Wilkes University has an acceptance rate of 91%, so it is easier to gain admission to this school than some others. Still, the admissions staff will examine your application closely to make sure you’re a good fit for Wilkes.
About 19% of students accepted to Wilkes submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 530 and 630. Math scores were between 490 and 620.
Wilkes received ACT scores from 2% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 22 and 29.
Learn more about Wilkes University admissions.
With a student to faculty ratio of 13 to 1, Wilkes University is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it’s a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.
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 Wilkes University is 39%. This is lower 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 Wilkes 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 Wilkes the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 63%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Wilkes University.
During the most recent academic year, there were 1,985 undergraduates at Wilkes.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Wilkes University.
The overall average net price of Wilkes 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25,062 | $23,440 | $26,432 | $27,843 | $31,638 |
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 Wilkes, 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 Wilkes, approximately 72% of students took out student loans averaging $6,466 a year. That adds up to $25,864 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 3.6%. 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 Wilkes University.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Wilkes University make around $63,454 per year during the early years of their employment. This is good news for future Wilkes University graduates since it is 29% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Wilkes University make the most money.
Wilkes University is an private not-for-profit institution situated in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Wilkes-Barre is a great location for students who prefer city over country life. Get more details about the location of Wilkes University.
Contact details for Wilkes University are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 84 West South Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766 |
| Phone: | 5704085000 |
| Website: | www.wilkes.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilkes_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/WilkesUniversity |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/WilkesU |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 20 majors graduated from Wilkes 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 | 1,494 | NA |
| Nursing | 435 | $98,952 |
| Teacher Education Subject Specific | 152 | $50,596 |
| Instructional Media Design | 109 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 108 | $42,687 |
| Educational Administration | 108 | NA |
| Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences | 65 | $107,920 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 58 | $39,650 |
| Writing Studies | 57 | NA |
| Curriculum & Instruction | 50 | NA |
1,185 students took at least one online class at Wilkes 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 Wilkes University.
Curious how schools stack up against Wilkes? 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.
References