Wayne State University
Detroit, Michigan · Public · 15,587 undergraduates · wayne.edu
Test policy (fall 2027)
Test optional
Sending scores is your choice
Admit rate
84%
of 17,263 applicants
SAT (middle 50%)
1060 to 1290
of enrolled freshmen
Annual cost (2027-28)
$35,630Est.Estimate
$54,630 out of state
Your chances and merit aid at Wayne State University
See where you stand for admission, how much merit aid you could get, and what you'd pay after it.
We started you at a typical enrolled freshman here. Move the sliders to match you.
Your admission chances
84% of applicants admitted
Target
Your SAT is inside the range where the middle half of enrolled freshmen scored, and your GPA is in the middle half of freshmen's.
Estimated merit aid
a year
Your cost after merit aid
$54,630
a year in 2027-28, from a $54,630 sticker price (out of state)
What to do with your 1180
Send your score
About 62% of freshmen here didn't send a score. We estimate their typical SAT at about 1030, and yours is above it.
Reach, target and likely are a rough guide from your test score and how selective the college is. Admissions also weigh your courses, grades, essays and activities. Merit aid figures are estimates, before any need-based aid.
Admissions
Test policy for fall 2027
Test optional
You choose whether to send an SAT or ACT score. If you send one, it's considered.
- Reviews applications as they arrive, so applying early helps.
- Test-optional applicants complete short essay questions and a list of activities (Common App materials may satisfy this)
Source: First-year application process | Wayne State University · Checked October 17, 2026
Application deadlines
- Dec1Priority deadline · December 1, 2026Apply by this date for the best chance at admission and scholarships.
Who gets in
84%
of applicants were admitted: 14,430 of 17,263 for fall 2025.
Test scores of enrolled freshmen (fall 2025)
The shaded part shows the middle half of enrolled freshmen who sent scores: a quarter scored below it and a quarter above. 36% of them sent SAT scores and 2.6% sent ACT scores.
SAT total 1060 to 1290
Reading and Writing 550 to 650
Math 510 to 640
ACT composite 23 to 28
How enrolled freshmen scored on the SAT
- 1400 to 16006.9%
- 1200 to 139940%
- 1000 to 119942%
- 800 to 99911%
- 600 to 7990.6%
- 400 to 5990%
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
High school GPA of enrolled freshmen
Average GPA: 3.42
- 4.015%
- 3.75 to 3.9920%
- 3.50 to 3.7416%
- 3.25 to 3.4914%
- 3.00 to 3.2414%
- 2.50 to 2.9920%
- Below 2.501.5%
Cost and financial aid
The sticker price is what a year costs before any aid. Most students pay less after grants and scholarships.
Sticker price for 2027-28Estimate
$35,630
a year, in state
$54,630
a year, out of state (tuition $33,600)
- Tuition (in state)$14,600
- Fees$2,360
- Food and housing$13,220
- Books and supplies$1,410
- Transportation and other$4,040
Wayne State University published $34,626 in state for 2026-27. Its 2027-28 prices aren't out yet.
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
What families actually pay
What a year cost on average after grants and scholarships, for freshmen who got federal aid in 2023-24 (in-state students), by family income.
- $0 to $30,000$9,694
- $30,001 to $48,000$9,087
- $48,001 to $75,000$9,680
- $75,001 to $110,000$12,492
- Over $110,000$18,584
Financial aid
62%
of a student's financial need is covered, on average
$15,186
average need-based grant to freshmen, money you don't repay
26%
of freshmen got merit aid without financial need, $6,144 on average
- FAFSA
- Required for need-based aid. It's the free federal aid form.
- CSS Profile
- Not required. Only the FAFSA is needed.
- Aid priority date: 3/1
- Send your aid forms by this date to be first in line for the college's grant money.
- Aid deadline: 6/30
- The last day to send aid forms.
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
Merit scholarships
Awards for grades and scores, on top of need-based aid. You don't repay them.
President's Award for National Merit Scholarship Finalists
$2,500 to $12,000 a year
National Merit
To keep it: a 3.5 college GPA, stay a full-time student (at least 12 credit hours) each fall and winter semester, keep making progress toward your degree (for example, 30 credit hours a year), and stay in good standing in the Honors College; it ends when you finish a bachelor's degree.
Details
Compare awards across colleges with the merit aid calculator.
AP credit
AP exams that earn credit can replace college courses, so you pay for fewer of them and may graduate sooner.
AP exams that earn credit
40 of 40
Earn credit with a score of 3
35 exams
A 3-credit course is worth
about $1,460Est.Estimate
at 2027-28 tuition for in-state students
Credit for each AP exam
| Exam | Score needed | Credits | Counts as |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-D Art and Design | 3 | 3 | ACO 1200 |
| 3-D Art and Design | 3 | 3 | ACO 1230 |
| African American Studies | 3 | 3 | AFS 1010 |
| Art History | 3 | 4 | AH 1000 |
| Biology | 3 | 3 | BIO 1510 |
| Biology | 5 | 7 | BIO 1510 (3) & 1500+1501(4) |
| Calculus AB | 3 | 4 | MAT 2010 |
| Calculus BC | 3 | 4 | MAT 2010 |
| Calculus BC | 4 | 8 | MAT 2010 & 2020 |
| Chemistry | 3 | 5 | CHM 1100/1130 |
| Chemistry | 4 | 9 | CHM 1100/1130 & 1140 |
| Chinese Language and Culture | 3 | 4 | CHI 2020 |
| Chinese Language and Culture | 5 | 8 | CHI 2020 & 3200 |
| Comparative Government and Politics | 3 | 4 | PS 2710 |
| Computer Science A | 3 | 4 | CSC 1100 & 1101 |
| Computer Science Principles | 4 | 3 | CSC 1000 elective |
| Drawing | 3 | 3 | ADR 1050 |
| English Language and Composition | 3 | 4 | ENG 1020 |
| English Language and Composition | 4 | 7 | ENG 1020 & 3010 |
| English Literature and Composition | 3 | 4 | ENG 1020 |
| English Literature and Composition | 4 | 7 | ENG 1020 & 3010 |
| Environmental Science | 3 | 3 | ESG 1500 |
| European History | 3 | 3 | HIS 1300 |
| European History | 5 | 4 | HIS 1300 |
| French Language and Culture | 3 | 4 | FRE 2100 |
| French Language and Culture | 5 | 8 | FRE 2100 & 2110 |
| German Language and Culture | 3 | 4 | GER 2010 |
| German Language and Culture | 4 | 8 | GER 2010 & 2020 |
| German Language and Culture | 5 | 11 | GER 2010, 2020 & 3100 |
| Human Geography | 3 | 4 | GPH 1100 |
| Italian Language and Culture | 3 | 4 | ITA 2010 |
| Italian Language and Culture | 5 | 7 | ITA 2010 & 3100 |
| Japanese Language and Culture | 3 | 4 | JPN 1010 |
| Japanese Language and Culture | 4 | 8 | JPN 1010 & 1020 |
| Japanese Language and Culture | 5 | 12 | JPN 1010, 1020 & 2010 |
| Latin | 3 | 4 | LAT 2010 |
| Macroeconomics | 3 | 4 | ECO 2020 |
| Microeconomics | 3 | 4 | ECO 2010 |
| Music Theory | 4 | 3 | MUT 1100 |
| Music Theory | 5 | 4 | MUT 1140 + 1150 |
| Physics 1 | 3 | 4 | PHY 2130/2131 |
| Physics 2 | 3 | 4 | PHY 2140/2141 |
| Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism | 4 | 4 | PSY 2180 |
| Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism | 5 | 5 | PHY 2180/2181 |
| Physics C: Mechanics | 4 | 4 | PHY 2170 |
| Physics C: Mechanics | 5 | 5 | PHY 2170/2171 |
| Pre-Calculus | 3 | 0 | GenEd - QE |
| Pre-Calculus | 4 | 4 | MAT 1800 |
| Psychology | 3 | 3 | PSY 1020 |
| Research | 3 | 3 | GEN 1000 ELECTIVE |
| Seminar | 3 | 3 | GEN 1000 ELECTIVE |
| Spanish Language and Culture | 3 | 4 | SPA 2025 |
| Spanish Language and Culture | 5 | 8 | SPA 2025 & 3025 |
| Spanish Literature and Culture | 5 | 8 | SPA 3300 |
| Statistics | 3 | 4 | STA 2210 |
| United States Government and Politics | 3 | 3 | PS 1030 |
| United States Government and Politics | 4 | 4 | PS 1010 |
| United States History | 3 | 3 | HIS 2040 |
| United States History | 4 | 4 | HIS 2040 |
| World History: Modern | 3 | 3 | HIS 1000 |
| World History: Modern | 5 | 4 | HIS 1000 |
Source: AP credit policy
After college
Graduate within 6 years
60%
Come back for a second year
83%
Typical earnings
$59,525
a year, 10 years after starting here
- Wayne State University$56,849
- All colleges$54,104
Median yearly earnings of graduates five years after finishing a bachelor's in this major. 49 majors here have earnings data.
Keep exploring
Figures marked Estimate are our estimates, not numbers the college published. Check each college's own site before you apply. SAT is a trademark of College Board, and ACT is a trademark of ACT, Inc. Sharp is not affiliated with either, or with Wayne State University. The Wayne State University logo is a trademark of the college.