College · Wayne

Wayne State College

University or collegePublicWayne, NEwww.wsc.edu ↗

Wayne State College is a public university in Wayne, NE, with about 3,967 students on campus. the average family on aid pays $15,360 a year, and 52% of students graduate.

Students on campus

3,967

3,934 undergrad · 873 grad · 840 online only

Admission rate

Open

open enrollment

Net price a year

$15,360

costs less than 71% of 4-year colleges

Graduation rate

52%

higher than 44% of 4-year colleges

Earnings, 10 yrs later

$47,075

higher than 66% of U.S. colleges

Getting in

How hard is it to get into Wayne State College?

Openanyone with a diploma can enroll

No SAT or ACT ranges reported. Wayne State College is likely test-optional.

What it costs

The sticker price, and what families really pay

Sticker price: $22,565 a year

Before any grants

$8,216

$10,142

Tuition & fees (in state) $8,216Room & board $10,142Books & supplies $1,536Other costs $2,671

What families on aid pay, by income

Average net price a year after grants and scholarships

$13k

$12k

$14k

$17k

$19k

Under $30k$30–48k$48–75k$75–110kOver $110k

Families earning under $30,000 pay about $12,844 a year; families over $110,000 pay about $18,905.

Who goes there

The students

Undergraduates by race and ethnicity

3,010 degree-seeking undergrads

White 76%Hispanic 10%Black 3%Asian 1%Two or more 3%International 6%

Women and men

undergraduates

Women 57%Men 43%

19 : 1students per teacher

26%get Pell grants (lower income)

7%undergrads 25 or older

7%study part time

Majors

The biggest programs, and what they pay

Bachelor’s programs with the most graduates, and their graduates’ median earnings four years later (one year later where that’s all that’s reported).

Business Administration, Management and Operations155 graduates a year · typical debt $16,861

$57,1784 yrs out

Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods84 graduates a year · typical debt $19,731

$43,3694 yrs out

Criminal Justice and Corrections77 graduates a year · typical debt $22,205

$55,4854 yrs out

Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas63 graduates a year · typical debt $23,896

$48,5814 yrs out

Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians43 graduates a year · typical debt $20,845

$68,4314 yrs out

Biology, General39 graduates a year · typical debt $19,000

$58,6094 yrs out

Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology31 graduates a year · typical debt $20,396

$41,3914 yrs out

Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness29 graduates a year · typical debt $24,500

$47,7464 yrs out

Outcomes

Do students finish, and does it pay off?

Graduate

52%

within 6 years · Pell students 39%

Come back for year two

72%

full-time first-year students

Earnings, 10 years later

$47,075

median, students on federal aid

Typical debt

$19,000

about $201 a month over 10 years

Paying back loans

Federal student loans, this college

69%of borrowers had paid down at least some of their loan within three years, more than at 86% of U.S. colleges.

Almost none defaulted within three years of starting repayment (payments on federal loans were paused from 2020 to 2023, so recent default rates are near zero everywhere).

Earnings by family background

Median earnings 10 years after starting, by family income when they enrolled

Lower income (under $30k)$42,984

Middle income ($30–75k)$48,239

Higher income (over $75k)$50,132

The town around it

Living in Wayne

31% of Wayne’s 6,121 residents are enrolled in college. Here is what the town is like, from TownTapestry’s Wayne pages.

$792/momedian rent · 26% below the stateHousing in Wayne → $228,900median home value · 4% below the stateHousing in Wayne → 11° / 85°January low / July high · 32" of snowClimate in Wayne →

Other colleges within 30 miles

Northeast Community College 23.7 mi Little Priest Tribal College 28 mi

Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (institution and field-of-study files) and IPEDS (Scorecard 06/10/2026 · IPEDS 2024 · fall 2023); town figures from the Census American Community Survey and NOAA climate normals. Graduation rates count first-time, full-time students; earnings are for students who received federal aid.