College dataData from U.S. Dept of EducationUpdated May 2026 · 4 min read
Data: 2026-05 Next refresh: Nov 2026

Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Cost, Graduate Salary, Acceptance Rate and Return on Investment

Worcester Polytechnic Institute is a private nonprofit college in Worcester, MA. Students pay about $43,071 a year in net price, and the median graduate earns $103,470 ten years after enrolling. By our Degree-ROI measure the degree pays back in about 3.5 years and adds $368,416 over a decade, ranking it #28 of 918 (top 4%) by value added.

Avg net price / yr
$43,071
Median salary (10 yrs)
$103,470
10-yr value added
$368,416
Acceptance rate
60.2%

What is Worcester Polytechnic Institute's acceptance rate?

Worcester Polytechnic Institute has an acceptance rate of 60.2%, which makes it moderately selective. It is a private nonprofit institution in Worcester, MA enrolling about 5,447 students, with a 89.1% graduation rate.

How much does Worcester Polytechnic Institute cost?

Worcester Polytechnic Institute costs about $43,071 per year in average net price, what a typical student actually pays after grants and scholarships. Over four years, including typical borrowing, that totals roughly $199,284. Published sticker cost of attendance is $78,679 per year.

How much do Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduates earn?

Ten years after enrolling, the median Worcester Polytechnic Institute student earns $103,470 per year. That is $56,770 more than the $46,700 that the typical worker with only a high-school diploma earns.

Is Worcester Polytechnic Institute worth it? Degree ROI and payback period

Worcester Polytechnic Institute pays back its roughly $199,284 cost in about 3.5 years, then keeps returning the earnings premium. Over the first decade the degree adds about $368,416 net of cost, a 2.85x return on the money invested. That ranks it #28 of 918 (top 4%) by value added. Its top-tier value is driven mainly by strong graduate earnings and a high graduation rate.

Top 10% value

Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduation rate and student debt

89.1% of Worcester Polytechnic Institute students complete their degree, and the median graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal student debt. That debt is about 26% of one year of median graduate earnings.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute by the numbers (vs the typical college)

How Worcester Polytechnic Institute compares to the median four-year college in our snapshot. Percentile is its rank among the 918 colleges that report both earnings and cost (higher is better).

MetricThis schoolMedian collegePercentile
Avg net price / yr$43,071$20,299cheaper than 3%
Median earnings (10 yrs)$103,470$54,76898th
Graduation rate89.1%57.0%95th
Acceptance rate60.2%75.7%more selective than 75%
10-yr value added$368,416-$28,19297th
ROI multiple (per $1)2.85x0.73x90th
Payback period3.5 yrs8.8 yrsfaster than 87%
How we compute Degree value-add & ROI. Investment basis = average net price × 4 years + median debt (net price preferred; published sticker cost used as a fallback). Earnings premium = median earnings 10 years after entry minus the $46,700 typical earnings of a worker with only a high-school diploma (BLS Current Population Survey, median annual earnings for workers with a high-school diploma and no college (~$899/week, 2023)). Degree value-add = premium × 10 years minus total cost, the net return of the degree itself over a high-school career (it can be negative). ROI multiple = 10-year premium ÷ cost. Payback = cost ÷ annual premium. Ranked by value-add among the 918 four-year colleges in this snapshot that report both earnings and cost; 226 of them do not pay back at ten years. Missing values are excluded, never estimated.
Open data: these figures come from the public College Scorecard (public domain). Our computed Degree value-add, ROI multiple, and payback are free to cite/reuse under CC-BY 4.0.

Frequently asked

Is Worcester Polytechnic Institute worth the cost compared to other colleges?

By value added net of cost, Worcester Polytechnic Institute ranks #28 of 918 (top 4%) of the 918 four-year colleges we rank, and returns about 2.85x the money invested over a decade.

Is Worcester Polytechnic Institute expensive compared to other colleges?

Its $43,071 average net price is above the $20,299 median for the colleges in this snapshot, making it cheaper than 3% of them.

Do Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduates earn more than average?

Median earnings of $103,470 ten years out are above the $54,768 median, higher than 98% of the colleges here.

How hard is it to get into Worcester Polytechnic Institute compared to other colleges?

Its 60.2% acceptance rate is below the 75.7% median, making it more selective than 75% of the colleges in the snapshot.

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