Private nonprofit · College

Warren Wilson College

Swannanoa, North Carolina · Fringe rural

71.3%
Admit rate: $21,249
Avg net price: 42%
Graduation rate: $36,260
Median earnings

Warren Wilson College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Swannanoa, North Carolina (fringe rural setting), enrolling 707 undergraduates.

Private nonprofitSmall · 707 undergradsFringe ruralAccessible · 71% admitNCAA Division III without footballCold winters

Will you get in?

See where your numbers land against Warren Wilson College's admitted students.

Admit rate: 71.3%
ACT (mid 50%): 25–29
Avg GPA (est.): 3.73

Your test score

Your GPA (4.0 scale, optional)

Enter a test score to see where you land against Warren Wilson College's admitted students.

A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Warren Wilson College's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.

About Swannanoa, North Carolina

Swannanoa is a census-designated place in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Swannanoa is located several miles west of Black Mountain just prior to Oteen and eastern Asheville. The area hosts the former Beacon Blanket Mill. Alexander Inn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Fringe rural
Highest degree offered: Graduate
Nearest big city: 6 miles to Asheville, NC
To the ocean: 231 miles
Nearest airport: 13 miles to Asheville (AVL)

How Warren Wilson College compares

Selectivity71.3%

More selective than 61% · #23 most selective of 53 in North Carolina

SAT average1350

Higher than 85%

Graduation rate42%

Higher than 26% · #40 of 56 in North Carolina

First-year retention71%

Higher than 33%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$36,260

Higher than 9% · #50 of 57 in North Carolina

Average net price$21,249

Cheaper than 44% · #37 cheapest of 57 in North Carolina

Median debt at graduation$25,000

Lower than 34%

Student–faculty ratio12 : 1

Lower than 59%

Undergraduate enrollment707

Larger than 28%

Percentiles compare Warren Wilson College with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in North Carolina.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

Undergraduate70793%
Graduate517%

Undergraduates by gender

Women45564%
Men25236%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White77%
Black5.0%
Hispanic8.6%
Asian0.9%
Other or multiracial8.8%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 707
Graduate enrollment: 51
Student–faculty ratio: 12 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 40%
First-generation students: 20%
Students over 25: 7%
Median family income: $44,436
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $56,520
Endowment: $55,051,556

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 196 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From North Carolina41%
Other U.S. states56%
International3.6%

A national draw — only 41% of first-years come from North Carolina; 56% arrive from other states.

4% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Admissions

Admission rate: 71.3%
Test scores: Considered but not required
SAT range (25th–75th %): —
SAT average: 1350
SAT reading: —
SAT math: —
ACT composite: 25–29
Average GPA (estimated): 3.73

Cost

In-state tuition: $41,500
Room & board: $13,050
Books & supplies: $850
Total cost of attendance: $56,966
Average net price: $21,249

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years): 42%
Graduated on time (4 years): 40%
First-year retention: 71%
Transferred to another college: 0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $27,723
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $36,260
Median debt at graduation: $25,000
Students with federal loans: 53%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 64%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

40%

Low-income (Pell)

31%

First-generation

36%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing: Yes
Dorm capacity: 794
Dorm capacity vs undergrads: 100%+
Application fee: Free
Athletics: NCAA Division III without football
Varsity athletes: 219 (96 men · 123 women)

Varsity sports (7)

Other Sports59

Soccer40

Basketball31

Lacrosse31

Volleyball24

Swimming20

Cross Country14

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade: A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 0.0 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 0
Property offenses (2022–2024): 0

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k

$13,566

$30–48k

$17,514

$48–75k

$21,046

$75–110k

$25,834

$110k+

$27,982

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Family income

Est. total to a degree

$85,988

$21,046/year × about 4.1 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

99%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$22,119

average award, among those who get one

Warren Wilson College discounts heavily: 99% of freshmen are awarded a grant straight from the school, averaging $22,119. For many families the real price lands well below sticker.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 192 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years): $36,260
Typical debt at graduation: $25,000
Debt vs. one year's pay: 69%
Out-earn a HS grad: 29%

Typical debt would take roughly 6.9 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women

$37,819

Men

$35,413

Women out-earn men by $2,406 (7%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high: 76°F
Winter low: 25°F
Annual rain: 53″
Annual snow: 28.5″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Swannanoa 2 Sse, NC US station (4.1 mi from campus).

What Warren Wilson College graduates study — and earn

Psychology, General

15 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

15———Visual and Performing Arts, General

14 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

14———Natural Resources Conservation and Research

13 grads— 1 yr$38k 5 yr— debt

13—$38,294—Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies

12 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

12———Social Work

11 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

11———Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology

8 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

8———Business Administration, Management and Operations

8 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

8———History

7 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

7———Biology, General

6 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

6———Outdoor Education

6 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

6———Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology

4 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

4———International/Globalization Studies

4 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

4———

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Warren Wilson College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Warren Wilson College side by side →

College of the Atlantic

Private

Bar Harbor, Maine · Remote rural · 113 mi to Portland

Students: 353
Admission: 70%
Net price: $25k
SAT: 1370
GPA: 3.8
Earnings: $40k

Emmanuel University

Private

Franklin Springs, Georgia · Distant rural · 58 mi to Greenville

Students: 775
Admission: 74%
Net price: $21k
SAT: —
GPA: —
Earnings: $38k

Hollins University

Private

Roanoke, Virginia · Midsize suburb · 6 mi to Roanoke

Students: 665
Admission: 68%
Net price: $21k
SAT: 1230
GPA: 3.5
Earnings: $40k

Hastings College

Private

Hastings, Nebraska · Distant town · 89 mi to Lincoln

Students: 891
Admission: 72%
Net price: $24k
SAT: 1320
GPA: 3.7
Earnings: $51k

Houghton University

Private

Houghton, New York · Remote rural · 49 mi to Buffalo

Students: 753
Admission: 89%
Net price: $21k
SAT: 1284
GPA: 3.6
Earnings: $47k

Bennington College

Private

Bennington, Vermont · Distant town · 32 mi to Albany

Students: 780
Admission: 45%
Net price: $31k
SAT: 1364
GPA: 3.8
Earnings: $38k

Colleges near Warren Wilson College

Center for Massage

Asheville, NC · Private for-profit · Certificate · 51 students

6 mi

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College

Asheville, NC · Public · Certificate · 5,110 students

7 mi

University of North Carolina Asheville

Asheville, NC · Public · Bachelor's · 2,910 students

7 mi

Daoist Traditions College of Chinese Medical Arts

Asheville, NC · Private for-profit · Graduate

7 mi

Montreat College

Montreat, NC · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 762 students

9 mi

Carolina College of Hair Design Inc

Asheville, NC · Private for-profit · Certificate · 46 students

9 mi

Galen Health Institutes-Asheville

Asheville, NC · Private for-profit · Associate · 253 students

11 mi

Mars Hill University

Mars Hill, NC · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,044 students

16 mi

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.