Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, KY · Public

Official website

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Admission rate

Western Kentucky University admitted 91.4% of applicants university-wide (8,863 of 9,692).

CohortAdmit rateAdmittedApplicants
University-wide91.4%8,8639,692
Men91.2%3,3103,630
Women91.6%5,5476,053

Of 8,863 admitted students, 2,643 enrolled (29.8% yield).

Western Kentucky University U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · Sections C1–C2 · 2023 — Published cohort admit rates — context, not an applicant-specific probability.

Test scores and GPA of admitted students

SAT (mid-50%)
930–1130
ACT (mid-50%)
18–25
GPA (mid-50%, 4.0 scale)
3.00–3.99

Testing policy: Required for some programs

Western Kentucky University U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · Sections C9–C12 · 2023 — Published admit stats reflect the entire incoming class unless explicitly labeled international-only.

Cost and financial aid

Published cost of attendance: $44,605/yr.

Out-of-state tuition$27,000
Fees, housing, food, books & other$17,605
Sticker cost of attendance$44,605/yr

Average net price by family income (US, federal aid data)

Under $30k$7,087
$30k–48k$6,871
$48k–75k$9,765
$75k–110k$14,049
Over $110k$17,653

U.S. Dept. of Education · College Scorecard — average net price by family income (Title IV, from IPEDS) · 2023

US applicants

Need- and merit-based aid available.

  • Trustee Scholarship — $5,000 per year (Trustee)
  • President's Scholarship — $4,000 per year (Automatic)
  • Maas Scholarship — $3,000 per year (Automatic)
  • Hatcher Scholarship — $2,000 per year (Automatic)
  • Hilltopper Scholarship — $1,000 per year (Automatic)
  • Regional Tuition Award — Reduces out-of-state tuition to in-state rate (Other)
  • WKU Foundation Scholarships — Varies (Other)

International applicants

No need-based aid reported for internationals.

  • International Freshman Academic Scholarship — Up to $14,000 per year (International Aid)
  • International Transfer Academic Scholarship — Up to $10,000 per year (International Aid)
  • Trustee Scholarship — $5,000 per year (Trustee)
  • President's Scholarship — $4,000 per year (Automatic)
  • Maas Scholarship — $3,000 per year (Automatic)
  • Hatcher Scholarship — $2,000 per year (Automatic)
  • Hilltopper Scholarship — $1,000 per year (Automatic)
  • WKU Foundation Scholarships — Varies (Other)

Western Kentucky University U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · Sections G–H · 2023

Application requirements

US applicants

  • Official High School Transcript
  • ACT or SAT Scores
  • Application fee

International applicants

  • Official High School Transcript
  • ACT or SAT Scores
  • Application fee
  • English proficiency (IELTS/TOEFL)
  • GPA credential conversion
  • Predicted Class XII marksheet
  • Financial documentation (I-20)

Western Kentucky University · Application requirements (official admissions pages) · 2025

Essay prompts

Western Kentucky University requires no supplemental essays.

Prompts from the Common App member feed · verified Jul 4, 2026

Graduate outcomes

Median earnings
$43,889
Median earnings · 10 years after entry
Graduation rate
55.6%
Within 150% of normal time
First-year retention
79.4%
Return for year two · CDS Section B
Median debt
$22,095
At graduation

Western Kentucky University · U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2023 release) · 2023 — Earnings and debt figures are federal data for aid-receiving graduates — cohort outcomes, not a guarantee for any individual student.

Published rankings

  • U.S. News National: #363
  • WSJ: #494

Deadlines

  • 2027-08-01Regular Decision — Standard deadline

Western Kentucky University U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · Sections C21–C22 · 2023

Academics and campus

Largest degree fields: Business & marketing (20%), Psychology (5%), Social sciences (5%).

Student–faculty ratio: 19:1 · 45% of class sections have under 20 students.

Western Kentucky University U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · Sections E, F, I · 2023 — Published institutional figures for the reporting year — descriptive of the current student body, not a prediction about your experience.

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