+13%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at Wake Forest University rose 13% between 2021 and 2024 ($59.8k → $67.6k).
North Carolina · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's
Wake Forest
Winston-Salem, North Carolina. 5,471 undergraduate students. 89 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
Earnings, completion, debt, and enrollment anomalies at Wake Forest
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Wake Forest University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (0.3% → 0.0%).
+13%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at Wake Forest University rose 13% between 2021 and 2024 ($59.8k → $67.6k).
+10%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at Wake Forest University rose 10% between 2017 and 2020 ($19.5k → $21.5k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
Wake Forest earnings, debt, and completion vs. the North Carolina median
Each tile compares this institution to the North Carolina median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$78,158+15% · 6→10y
North Carolina median $36,030$67,722
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry90.9%+5% · '97→'24
North Carolina median 46.1%$19,500+48% · '97→'20
At program completion5,471+47% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS94.7%-3% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time21.6%-53% · '01→'24
latest cohort$64,758+202% · '00→'24
out-of-state $64,758SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How Wake Forest earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings at Wake Forest
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
3.3%Median federal debt $19,500 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $78,158 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Wake Forest enrollment, completion, and debt over time
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
+47%
Wake Forest · undergrad enrollment rose
3,730 → 5,485
+202%
Wake Forest · in-state tuition rose
$22,410 → $67,642
+202%
Wake Forest · out-of-state tuition rose
$22,410 → $67,642
+48%
Wake Forest · median debt rose
$14,500 → $21,500
-70%
Wake Forest · cohort default rate fell
1.4% → 0.0%
+30%
Wake Forest · earnings_median_10yr rose
$59,900 → $78,158
+53%
Wake Forest · earnings_median_8yr rose
$52,600 → $80,513
+61%
Wake Forest · earnings_median_6yr rose
$42,100 → $67,722
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Wake Forest programs ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$196,293Medicine$151,765Computer Science$140,759Finance and Financial Management Services$140,033Business Administration, Management and Operations$124,637Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions$124,321Mathematics$113,570Accounting and Related Services$111,352Economics$109,506Law$107,956Business/Commerce, General$107,296Political Science and Government$89,748Chemistry$74,850Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics$74,367Psychology, General$72,847Communication and Media Studies$72,756Health and Physical Education/Fitness$71,728English Language and Literature, General$66,625History$66,622Biology, General$66,200Student Counseling and Personnel Services$64,284Sociology$62,340Fine and Studio Arts$61,144Theological and Ministerial Studies$45,177
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
24 Wake Forest programs with earnings, grouped by field
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
EDUCATION · CIP 13
FOREIGN LANGUAGES · CIP 16
LEGAL PROFESSIONS · CIP 22
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS · CIP 27
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
THEOLOGY & RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS · CIP 39
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
HISTORY · CIP 54
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Wake Forest
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$1,416,338
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 7
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $12,769
- HS-only baseline · NC
- $35,600
- Years to complete
- 6
- CIP family
- 52
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Institutions similar to Wake Forest in North Carolina
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Wake Forest graduates earn $X” — not “Wake Forest makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Wake Forest caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.