William & Mary (W&M) vs Wake Forest University (WFU)

William & Mary and Wake Forest University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. William & Mary, nestled in historic Williamsburg, Virginia, boasts a lower acceptance rate and a smaller student body, fostering a close-knit community. Wake Forest University, located in vibrant Winston-Salem, North Carolina, offers a more diverse student body and a higher acceptance rate. While both universities excel in liberal arts and sciences, William & Mary is known for its strong government and public policy programs, while Wake Forest University is renowned for its business and entrepreneurship offerings. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve into further details, including graduation rates, popular majors, and additional factors that may influence your college decision.

	William & Mary	Wake Forest University
Overview
Location	Williamsburg, Virginia	Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Campus setting	Suburb: Small	City: Midsize
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	93.0%	94.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	36.5%	25.2%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $85 Graduate: $80
SAT range	1360 - 1520	N/A
ACT range	31 - 34	N/A
Students submitting SAT score	51.0%
Students submitting ACT score	19.0%
Total number of applicants	17,475	15,156
Total number of admissions given out	6,386	3,816
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,684	1,412
Yield rate	26.4%	37.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $40,624 Out of state: $63,850	$79,886
Average net price	$18,399	$24,643
Tuition	In state: $17,434 Out of state: $40,089	$58,708
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $8,490 Meal plan: $5,246	Room/dormitory: $10,144 Meal plan: $7,870
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	44.0% Average amount $21,700	33.0% Average amount $53,244
Students receiving federal student loan	22.0% Average amount $5,132	17.0% Average amount $4,985
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $27,548	3.0% Average amount $32,719

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	6,543 Men 41.6% Women 58.4%	5,472 Men 45.7% Women 54.3%
Graduate students	2,974 Men 42.7% Women 57.3%	3,475 Men 42.4% Women 57.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	35.2%	N/A
International students	6.2%	9.8%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Small	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	4,755	4,152
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Virginia New Jersey Maryland Pennsylvania New York	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Legal Profession Education Social Sciences Multidisciplinary Studies	Business Health Professions Legal Profession Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	91.0%	90.2%
Dropout rate	2.1%	9.5%
Transferred out	6.3%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,208 Year 2: $71,202 Year 3: $87,886 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $64,972 Year 2: $66,087 Year 3: $81,526 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $85,399 Year 2: $82,440 Year 3: $80,518 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $73,897 Year 2: $68,499 Year 3: $80,071 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,977 Year 2: $65,610 Year 3: $69,021 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,979 Year 2: $53,108 Year 3: $57,485 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,630 Year 2: $44,117 Year 3: $51,824 Public Policy Analysis (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,566 Year 2: $39,153 Year 3: $50,454 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,517 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $48,118 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,414 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $47,651	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $169,430 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $155,438 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,143 Year 2: $96,587 Year 3: $105,398 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,169 Year 2: $80,510 Year 3: $96,761 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,086 Year 2: $76,836 Year 3: $93,939 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,098 Year 2: $71,015 Year 3: $89,902 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,076 Year 2: $65,145 Year 3: $79,400 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,533 Year 2: $66,653 Year 3: $76,702 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $58,731 Year 2: $60,811 Year 3: $72,065 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,100 Year 2: $55,693 Year 3: $70,717 Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $56,086 Year 2: $57,411 Year 3: $65,270

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

William & Mary (W&M) vs Wake Forest University (WFU)

William & Mary

Wake Forest University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

Compare Similar Colleges

Find Colleges By State

Resources

About