Admit rate has ranged 61%–64% over the last 5 years. Source: IPEDS via Urban Institute.
Acceptance & SAT from Common Data Set / IPEDS; net price, earnings & graduation from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Figures lag ~1–2 years — verify with the school.
Wabash College is a fiercely traditional, all-male liberal arts college in rural Indiana where brotherhood isn’t just a slogan—it’s the bedrock of campus life. With a 9:1 student-faculty ratio, a 77% graduation rate, and a 'Gentleman’s Rule' that substitutes for a formal code of conduct, Wabash cultivates an intense, self-governing intellectual community where Philosophy, Politics, and Economics majors dominate and graduates earn median salaries 13% above the national average for liberal arts colleges.
Admission requirements
Test-optional — scores considered if submitted
Required
High school transcript
Grade point average
College-prep program
TOEFL (non-native English)
Considered (not required)
Class rank
Letters of recommendation
Test scores (SAT/ACT)
Source: IPEDS Admissions survey (2022) via Urban Institute. Covers formal factors only — it does not reflect essays, extracurriculars, or other holistic criteria.
More details
Undergrad enrollment
866
In-state tuition
$50,800
Out-of-state tuition
$50,800
Type
Private all-male liberal arts college
Location
Crawfordsville, IN
Acceptance Rate
63%
Graduation Rate
77%
On-Campus Housing
99% of students
Most Popular Major
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
Student-Faculty Ratio
9:1
Median Earnings (Post-6Yrs)
$68,626
Outcomes & value
Outcomes & value
Median earnings (10 yr)
$69,952
Value (earnings ÷ net price)
2.9×
Median debt at graduation
$27,000
Graduation rate
77%
First-year retention
93%
Reducing loan balance (3 yr)
70%
Pell (lower-income) share
35%
Endowment / student
$495,361
Earnings = median of students working ~10 years after entry; debt = median of graduates. Value divides 10-yr earnings by one year’s net price — read it as earnings per dollar of annual cost, not a full lifetime ROI; it favors lower-cost schools. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Figures lag ~2 years and reflect all students, not your intended major.
Financial health
2.8 / 3.0Meets the federal financial-responsibility standard
U.S. Dept. of Education Financial Responsibility Composite Score (FY2022-23). Scale −1.0 to 3.0; ≥1.5 meets the standard. Reported for private nonprofit & for-profit institutions only — public universities are state-backed and not scored, so this is a stability signal, not a ranking.
Top-earning majors
Median earnings by field of study (highest credential), ~2 years after completion.
Economics$52,107
Mathematics$51,482
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies$49,058
Biology, General$41,565
Psychology, General$41,007
Political Science and Government$37,208
History
Campus & location
Campus safety
On-campus violent crimes (2024)
0
Per 1,000 students
0.00
On-campus criminal offenses classed as violent (murder/non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) for the most recent reported year. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education Campus Safety and Security (Clery Act). Counts reflect what’s reported to the school, and urban campuses often report more partly due to non-student incidents nearby — read alongside campus size and setting, not as a standalone safety verdict.
Climate
Pleasant days / yr
91
Summer high
83°F
Winter low
25°F
Annual rain
39.3"
Annual snow
18.1"
Natural-hazard risk
Very Low
Pleasant days counts days per year with a mean temperature of 55–75°F, a high at or below 90°F, a low at or above 45°F, and little precipitation — a transparent comfort measure, not a weighting we invented. Computed from Open-Meteo ERA5 daily history (2019–2023). Natural-hazard risk is the county’s composite rating from the FEMA National Risk Index.
Deep dive — research, future-scholar output & economic mobility▾
Research output
Institutional h-index
94
Scholarly works
1,928
Institutional research volume and impact from OpenAlex. The h-index reflects large research universities and will be low for teaching-focused liberal-arts colleges — not a measure of undergraduate quality.
Economic mobility
Mobility rate
1.7%
Bottom → top quintile
40%
From bottom quintile
4%
Mobility rate = the share of students who both start in the bottom household-income quintile and reach the top quintile; bottom → top is that chance conditional on starting at the bottom. Source: Opportunity Insights Mobility Report Cards (Chetty, Friedman, Saez, Turner & Yagan). Reflects 1980–82 birth cohorts, so it’s directional, not current.
Quick answers
What is the acceptance rate at Wabash College?
Wabash College's acceptance rate is approximately 63% (Crawfordsville, IN), based on the most recent figures we compiled from public and primary sources.
What SAT score do you need for Wabash College?
Admitted students at Wabash College typically score 1060–1270 on the SAT (the middle-50% range). Scores outside this band are still admitted, especially with strong applications.
How much does Wabash College cost?
At Wabash College, the average net price (after aid) is about $24,336 per year. Actual cost varies with financial aid and residency.
How many undergraduates attend Wabash College?
Wabash College enrolls approximately 866 undergraduate students.
Where is Wabash College located?
Wabash College is located in Crawfordsville, IN.
Admissions
Wabash’s admissions process leans moderately selective, with a 63% Acceptance rateThe share of applicants a college admits in a given year. A 10% acceptance rate means it admits about 1 in 10 applicants. that belies its academic rigor. Admitted students typically post SAT scores between 1070–1267 (average 1166) or ACT composites of 22–28 (average 26), with an average high school GPA of 3.5–3.7. The college practices a 'three possible decisions' policy—accept, deny, or waitlist—and requires admitted students to withdraw applications from other schools. Notably, 65.7% of enrollees receive financial aid, with average packages covering significant costs.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (field-of-study earnings). Figures cover graduates who received federal aid and lag ~2 years; not all programs report data.
Wabash offers 40 academic programs across three divisions—Natural Sciences, Humanities and Arts, and Social Sciences—with Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) as its most popular major (24 degrees awarded annually). The curriculum emphasizes interdisciplinary rigor: Experimental Psychology, Economics, History, and Speech round out the top majors. A 9:1 student-faculty ratio enables close mentorship, while dual-degree engineering and pre-law/med programs cater to career-focused students. U.S. News ranks Wabash #2 for 'Most Accessible Professors' and highlights its strengths in undergraduate teaching and social mobility.
Life at Wabash revolves around its all-male 'brotherhood,' governed by the Gentleman’s Rule ('Act as a gentleman at all times') as the sole behavioral code. With 99% of students living on campus, the college fosters tight-knit bonds through dorm-based social events and intramural sports. Traditions loom large—think chapel sing-offs and rivalry games—while the absence of Greek life (prohibited since 1992) channels energy into campus-wide activities. The vibe is intensely communal but self-policing: as one Quora poster notes, 'You’re accountable to your peers first, deans second.'
Wabash delivers exceptional ROI: 98.3% of graduates secure first destinations within six months (vs. 84.1% national average), with median earnings of $68,626—13% above the midpoint for four-year colleges. Early-career salaries average $42,841, jumping to $64,747 by year five. The 77% graduation rate (top 15% nationally) reflects both academic support and student commitment. Notably, PPE majors—despite their theoretical bent—fare well in law, finance, and public policy roles.
The sticker price is steep, but 65.7% of students receive aid, with average packages of $51,269 slashing the Net priceWhat a family actually pays after grants and scholarships are subtracted from the sticker price — usually far less than the published cost. to $25,540. Wabash’s net price calculator emphasizes federal/state aid eligibility, though institutional grants do heavy lifting. For context: early-career earnings ($42,841) nearly double the net cost within a year of graduation—a rare feat among liberal arts colleges.
Wabash is the last bastion of old-school masculine academia—no coed distractions, no speech codes, just 900 men debating Kant over coffee at 2 AM. Its secret sauce? The Gentleman’s Rule forces students to govern themselves, while the 9:1 faculty ratio ensures they’re challenged. PPE majors thrive alongside future engineers (via dual-degree programs), and that $68,626 median salary proves the liberal arts still pay. Not for the faint-hearted, but if you want a tribe—and a degree that opens doors—this Indiana enclave delivers.
Wabash College logo · sourceWabash College: Crawfordsville, Indiana · sourceGetting Around | Student Life | Wabash College · sourceWabash College – Colleges That Change Lives · source
