University of Wisconsin-Madison is a public institution in Madison, WI with an acceptance rate of 45% and 36,902 students. The middle 50% of admitted students score 1380–1520 on the SAT and present an average GPA near 3.89. The average net price after financial aid is $13,376 per year.
About University of Wisconsin-Madison
A public 4-year urban university in Madison, WI.
University of Wisconsin-Madison is a college in Madison, WI. It enrolls roughly 36,902 students. The most recent acceptance rate is 45%. Admitted students typically score between 1380 and 1520 on the SAT.
Your chances at this school
What admitted students look like here. Sign in to see how your own profile compares.
Selective — strong academics get you in the conversation.
What strengthens an application here
- SAT scores of 1380 to 1520The middle half of admitted students scored in this range. A score in the upper part of it strengthens an application.
- A GPA near 3.89 or higherThis is the average across admitted students.
- Depth in one or two activitiesSustained commitment, a leadership role, or a result in a few activities says more than a long list of memberships.
Your chances estimate is based on your academic profile and activities — it is a guide, not a guarantee of admission. Decisions weigh essays, recommendations, and fit factors that aren't in the data.
Admissions
What it actually takes to get into University of Wisconsin-Madison. Test scores, GPA, application requirements, and deadlines.
Admitted student profile
Range shown is the middle 50%.
This school doesn't require test scores, so these ranges reflect only students who chose to submit — applicants who submit tend to have higher scores. The real admitted range likely runs lower. Don't rule yourself out on scores alone.
Application requirements
- Personal essay required
- Courses & Grades self-report
- 1 teacher eval
- Test-optional
- $80 application fee
- Accepts fee waiver
Deadlines (2026-27)
- Early Action
- Nov 1, 2026
- Regular Decision
- Jan 15, 2027
Source: Common App 2026-27 requirements grid (verified Aug 2026). Always confirm on the college's own site.
Cost & financial aid
Published costs can be misleading. Here's what families actually pay at University of Wisconsin-Madison after grants and scholarships.
Net price by family income
Average amount paid out of pocket — tuition, fees, and room & board minus all grant aid.
Net price represents the average cost after grants and scholarships for students receiving federal financial aid.
Academics & majors
Where students at University of Wisconsin-Madison concentrate, and how the classroom experience scales.
Student body
Who attends University of Wisconsin-Madison. Enrollment, diversity, and where students come from.
Race & ethnicity
- White61%
- Asian11%
- Hispanic9%
- Black2%
- Two or more races5%
- International10%
Gender
- Female53%
- Male47%
Outcomes after graduation
What University of Wisconsin-Madison graduates do next — and what they earn.
Is it worth it?
Earnings, debt, and price side by side — context for the cost-vs-payoff question, not a ranking.
- Median earnings
- $73.8k
- Typical debt
- $18.1k
- Avg. net price
- $13.4k/yr
- These numbers reflect who enrolls, not the value the school adds. A college's earnings can look high simply because it admits wealthier, higher-scoring students — not because of what happens there.
- Earnings vary far more by major and career path than by school. A school-wide median blends engineers and artists into one number that may match no real student.
- Federal earnings and debt figures cover only students who received federal aid, so they leave out full-pay students and can skew the picture.
- Net price is an average across aided students and debt is the median for borrowers only — many students borrow nothing. Your actual cost depends on your own aid package.
What this means
$74k is well above the national bachelor's-graduate median at the 10-year mark, and a 89% graduation rate puts University of Wisconsin-Madison in the top tier nationally.
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