Payback
EarningsPlus
Economic score
Worcester Polytechnic Institute is a private national university located in Worcester, Massachusetts. Worcester Polytechnic Institute is moderately inclusive in their admissions.
Return on educational investment at Worcester Polytechnic Institute is in the top 25% of all ranked schools. The median student earns $89,405 10 years after enrolling, 8th in Massachusetts, and in the top 5% nationally. When adjusted for earning differences by major, Worcester Polytechnic Institute bachelor students earn 8% more than the national average. Worcester Polytechnic Institute is ranked 18th in Massachusetts.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s median net annual cost of $42,835 and average years to graduate of 4.2 are reported only at the school level. We assume these same costs and graduation time for all programs.
The top 6 programs at Worcester Polytechnic Institute sorted by number of graduates - Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Biomedical/Medical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering., Chemical Engineering - are shown below. To see more programs, click on "see additional programs".
Annual net cost
$42,835
Average years to graduate
4.2
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other
Rank: #7
Economic score: 2.51
Industrial Engineering
Rank: #68
Economic score: 2.97
Civil Engineering
Rank: #178
Economic score: 3.02
Mathematics and Statistics, Other
Rank: #6
Economic score: 3.52
Aerospace Engineering
Rank: #54
Economic score: 3.92
Mathematics
Rank: #189
Economic score: 4.4
Environmental Engineering
Rank: -
When a school's graduation rate falls in the bottom 25% in the country, we do not display an economic ranking.
Economic score: 4.78
Biology
Rank: #232
Economic score: 5.35
Computer software
Rank: -
When a school's graduation rate falls in the bottom 25% in the country, we do not display an economic ranking.
Economic score: 13.49
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology
Rank: #96
Economic score: 16.36
EarningPlus compares the three-year post graduate earnings to the median earnings of the same graduating class, with the same graduate degree. These 2 metrics, debt-to-earnings and EarningsPlus, are combined into an economic score. The lower the economic score the better.
The most popular 4 graduate programs at Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Business Administration, Engineering, Other - are shown below.
The average full-time graduate completes their degree in 4.2 years. 89% of all students graduate within 8 years. The graduation rate at Worcester Polytechnic Institute is 17% higher than the state average, and 22% above the average for all national universities in the country.
At Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Pell Grant recipients represent 9% of the measured graduating class, 26% lower than the national average of 35%. The average Pell Grant recipient at Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduates within 4.2 years.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute is in the bottom 5% of schools for graduating Pell recipients.
We calculate this performance by adjusting the graduation rate of Pell students by their percentage of the student body. This adjustment is made to prevent schools with large numbers of Pell students from underperforming in comparison to schools with few Pell students but high graduation rates.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s economic mobility score of 6.79 is calculated by adjusting the 2.13 economic score of lower-income students by the 9% pell grant recipients within the student body. Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s EMS of 6.79 ranks in the bottom 10% nationally.false
Economic Mobility
To calculate economic mobility of low-income (household earnings below $30,000) students, we adjust each institution’s economic score by their percentage of Pell Grant students. The logic of this Pell-adjusted calculation is derived from Third Way’s Economic Mobility Index (EMI).
Bottom 10%
The average Title IV recipient at Worcester Polytechnic Institute pays $42,835 a year, $29,461 less than the $72,296 advertised. See below the cost breakdown for students who receive Title IV grants, broken down by income level.
Average net price
The average net price shown by income level for all students that receive Title IV aid. Calculated by deducting the average grant and scholarship aid from tuition, fees, books, and room and board. Limited to first-time, full-time students. Public institution figures are calculated using in-state tuition figures.
Median net price $42,835
Much of the gap between net price and sticker price is filled by institutional and government grants. At Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 98% of students receive some grants and scholarships, compared to the national average of 87% for all colleges and universities. The average amount of federal, state, and institutional grants that students receive is shown on the right.
This leaves a total of $42,835 on average to be covered by the student – be it through loans or out of pocket. In total, 55% of students take out loans, federal or private, at an average amount of $14,559. This is 1% more than the national average.
Federal grants
$5,212
Pell grants
$4,669
State grants
$1,875
Institutional grants
$23,130
Worcester Polytechnic Institute's moderately inclusive admissions are indicated by their 60% acceptance rate. In 2021, the school had 11,092 applicants, of which 6,679 were admitted and 1,410 enrolled. Worcester Polytechnic Institute doesn't have a rolling admissions policy, which means applications are reviewed after a hard admissions deadline.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute does not consider standardized testing in their admissions process.
Full time
100%
83%
Female
36%
59%
First time
96%
59%
In-state
47%
68%
1st generation
13%
35%
White
64%
52%
Black
3%
14%
Hispanic
9%
15%
Asian
8%
5%
American Indian
N/A
1.6%
Pacific Islander
N/A
0.3%
Other
16%
12%