Public · University
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan · Small city
- 84.6%
- Admit rate
- $15,273
- Avg net price
- 58%
- Graduation rate
- $53,562
- Median earnings
Western Michigan University is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Kalamazoo, Michigan (small city setting), enrolling 12,568 undergraduates.
About Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Kalamazoo was originally known as Bronson, after Titus Bronson, its founder, who settled here in 1829. In 1836, it was renamed Kalamazoo after the river running by it (a name that had already been adopted by the county in 1830). On the first Friday of each month, the council organizes the 'Art Hop'. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Small city
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 2 miles to Kalamazoo, MI
- To Great Lakes shore
- 36 miles
- Nearest airport
- 5 miles to Kalamazoo/Battle Creek (AZO)
How Western Michigan University compares
More selective than 36% · #30 most selective of 43 in Michigan
Higher than 56% · #25 of 44 in Michigan
Higher than 65%
Higher than 49% · #26 of 45 in Michigan
Cheaper than 72% · #17 cheapest of 44 in Michigan
Lower than 21%
Lower than 28%
Larger than 91%
Percentiles compare Western Michigan University with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Michigan.
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate12,56877%
- Graduate3,71723%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women6,84254%
- Men5,72646%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White68%
- Black8.2%
- Hispanic9.3%
- Asian2.9%
- Other or multiracial12%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 12,568
- Graduate enrollment
- 3,717
- Student–faculty ratio
- 16 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 27%
- First-generation students
- 29%
- Students over 25
- 9%
- Median family income
- $51,034
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $97,470
- Endowment
- $754,940,001
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 2,472 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From Michigan78%
- Other U.S. states21%
- International1.5%
Most first-years stay in state — Western Michigan University draws overwhelmingly from Michigan.
2% 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
- 84.6%
- Test scores
- Not considered
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- —
- SAT average
- —
- SAT reading
- —
- SAT math
- —
- ACT composite
- —
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $15,252
- Out-of-state tuition
- $19,034
- Room & board
- $12,174
- Books & supplies
- $1,128
- Total cost of attendance
- $29,237
- Average net price
- $15,273
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated (within 6 years)
- 58%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 32%
- First-year retention
- 81%
- Transferred to another college
- 27%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $45,356
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $53,562
- Median debt at graduation
- $26,188
- Students with federal loans
- 47%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 50%
About 26% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
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
- 4,775
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 38%
- Application fee
- $40
- Athletics
- NCAA Division I-FBS
- Football conference
- Mid-American Conference
- Varsity athletes
- 435 (233 men · 202 women)
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
Varsity sports (11)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- B
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 1.6 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 40
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 42
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 6 campuses (16,744 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.
Reported offenses in an average year
The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.
By offense type, per year
Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.
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.
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.
$13,833/year × about 4.7 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.
Modest institutional aid: 91% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $6,531. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.
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 2,578 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)
- $53,562
- Typical debt at graduation
- $26,188
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 49%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 59%
Typical debt would take roughly 4.9 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.
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.
Men out-earn women by $11,266 (23%) 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
- 83°F
- Winter low
- 18°F
- Annual rain
- 33.2″
- Annual snow
- 64.6″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Kalamazoo Battle CK Intl AP, MI US station (4.6 mi from campus).
What Western Michigan University graduates study — and earn
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 Western Michigan University
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Western Michigan University side by side →
Ball State University
Muncie, Indiana · Small city · 50 mi to Indianapolis
- Students
- 13,988
- Admission
- 86%
- Net price
- $15k
- SAT
- 1160
- GPA
- 3.3
- Earnings
- $52k
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska · Large city · 4 mi to Omaha
- Students
- 11,488
- Admission
- 87%
- Net price
- $13k
- SAT
- 1120
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $54k
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Whitewater, Wisconsin · Distant town · 37 mi to Madison
- Students
- 9,405
- Admission
- 86%
- Net price
- $14k
- SAT
- 1050
- GPA
- 3.0
- Earnings
- $55k
The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tennessee · Midsize city · 1 mi to Chattanooga
- Students
- 10,074
- Admission
- 81%
- Net price
- $14k
- SAT
- 1147
- GPA
- 3.3
- Earnings
- $51k
Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, Michigan · Large suburb · 30 mi to Detroit
- Students
- 10,055
- Admission
- 80%
- Net price
- $15k
- SAT
- 1066
- GPA
- 3.1
- Earnings
- $52k
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, Hawaii · Large city · 3 mi to Honolulu
- Students
- 15,029
- Admission
- 87%
- Net price
- $16k
- SAT
- 1102
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $58k
Colleges near Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo, MI · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,149 students
Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine
Kalamazoo, MI · Private nonprofit · Graduate
Ross Medical Education Center-Portage
Portage, MI · Private for-profit · Certificate · 124 students
Kalamazoo Valley Community College
Kalamazoo, MI · Public · Associate · 4,997 students
Michigan Career and Technical Institute
Plainwell, MI · Public · Certificate · 118 students
The Salon Professional Academy-Battle Creek
Battle Creek, MI · Private for-profit · Certificate · 49 students
Ross Medical Education Center-Battle Creek
Battle Creek, MI · Private for-profit · Certificate · 50 students
Kellogg Community College
Battle Creek, MI · Public · Associate · 2,971 students
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.














