Here I am going to show you that for University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point: what kind of university it is, how people get in, what it really costs, and what happens to the students who are already there. Not to tell you whether it is the right one for your child. No article can tell you that. But to help you know it well enough to include it, thoughtfully, in the biggest decision your family is going to make.
Who This University Is and Where It Is Located
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is a public four-year institution. The federal system that classifies colleges and universities in the United States (Carnegie) describes it as a master's university with medium-sized programs, one that accepts students from across the range of academic preparation—which Carnegie calls "inclusive"—and as primarily residential: at the time of that classification, between one-quarter and one-half of its undergraduate students lived in institution-provided housing.
Pay attention to a detail that seems small but is not: between 2018 and 2021, Carnegie changed this school's category. If an older guide describes it differently from how I describe it here, neither is wrong. The measurement system changed, not necessarily the school.
It is in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, in Portage County, in a town setting far from large urban areas. If your family does not live nearby, this means something very concrete: you will have to figure out separately where your child would live and how they would get around. The census code only tells you that the school is in a town. It does not tell you how far your family lives from it or how long the trip takes. You have to find that out.
IPEDS—the Department of Education data system supporting this entire article—records that the institution offers programs through the doctoral level, although the bulk of its activity is at the bachelor's and graduate levels. That does not tell you whether your child's specific major is offered there or whether it connects undergraduate and graduate study. You need to verify that program by program.
And a note about institutional identity: University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is not classified as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges and universities in this national directory, 138 have at least one of those three designations. Its not having one says nothing about which communities it serves today or how your child would feel there. Ask directly: what student organizations exist, what cultural centers are available, and, better yet, speak with someone who already studies there.
The Size of the Community Your Child Would Join
In the fall of 2023, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point had 8,109 enrolled students: 7,419 undergraduates and 690 graduate students. Above all, it is a bachelor's-level institution. In size, it is neither among the smallest nor the largest: it falls right in the middle compared with the other 519 similar public schools in this census.
Within that community, there are more women than men—56 out of every 100—and there are few adult students: only 8 out of every 100 are between the ages of 25 and 64. The vast majority of first-time students, 88 out of every 100, reported a permanent address in Wisconsin. In that sense, it is a school that primarily serves its own state.
And here is a number I want to give you without dressing it up: 4 out of every 100 undergraduate students identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino. Compared with the other 519 selective public schools in this census, it falls in the bottom quarter. There are few.
That neither takes the school off the list nor puts it on the list. A student-composition figure does not measure quality or warmth. It measures who is enrolled today. If your child would be one of the few, the question worth asking during a visit is concrete: what student group, what cultural center, what person in the office speaks Spanish? Then speak with a Latino student who is already there. They have that information, not IPEDS.
How the Academic Year Works and What the University Does With What Your Child Already Knows
The calendar is semester-based: two terms of about 15 weeks each, with the same dates for everyone. Nothing unusual there.
What is worth knowing is that the university reported accepting credit from AP exams, as well as what IPEDS calls "credit for life experience"—independent study, adult courses, work experience, portfolios, prior certifications, and military training. It also enrolls high school students in college courses, both within and outside a formal dual-enrollment program.
Here is the hard truth behind that good news: the school's saying that it accepts AP does not mean it will award credit for every exam at every score. We do not know what scores it requires or whether those credits apply to your child's exact major. Ask for a written equivalency evaluation before enrolling. Do not budget for saving a semester until you have it in hand.
As for academic offerings: between July 2022 and June 2023, the university awarded 1,282 bachelor's degrees across 22 fields of study. None accounted for a large share: the largest, natural resources and the environment, represented only 20 out of every 100 degrees awarded that year. It is a broad offering without a single dominant major. But 22 fields with data do not equal 22 majors in the current catalog—each field groups several programs—so if your child already knows what they want to study, verify that the exact program is offered today.
One number I do want you to understand clearly: the student-to-instructional-staff ratio is 21 to 1. Compared with similar schools, it falls in the highest quarter—a high aggregate ratio. But be careful: this is not class size. It is an institution-wide average. If first-year class size matters to you, that information is not here. Ask the school directly.
The institution also reports specific structured opportunities: study abroad, noncredit developmental education, and pathways preparing students for teacher certification, including state approval for initial certification.
Getting In: What the University Reviews and What Actually Happens
Here is something many families do not expect: applying to University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is free. The published fee is $0.
But it does not have open admission. The university reviews specific materials before saying yes. Of the nine considerations measured in this report, four are required: the high school transcript, high school GPA, personal essay, and English proficiency exam when applicable. In other words, your child has to write. Gathering documents is not enough.
Other materials are not required but do count if you submit them: class rank, the record of courses taken, letters of recommendation, a portfolio or competency exam, work experience, and—I want to say this directly—whether a family member studied there. If that is not true for your family, do not spend energy on it. Spend it on what is within your control: the essay, the transcript, and the GPA.
Now for the numbers on how likely admission is. In the 2023 cycle, the university received 8,820 first-time applications and offered admission to 7,950. That is 90 out of every 100. Compared with the other 519 selective public schools, it is on the more accessible side: seven out of ten schools in that group admitted an equal or smaller percentage. Even so, 870 applicants did not receive an offer. Applying completely and on time still matters.
Here is a number worth stopping to read carefully: out of every 100 students admitted, only 23 enrolled. The other 77 had a place there and did not take it. That is not a mark against the school—the federal record does not say why each person made that decision—and it also tells you nothing about what your child specifically will be offered. What I will tell you is this: wait for the financial aid letter with the net price before deciding whether this school stays on the list. That is the only figure that will tell you what the year will truly cost.
As for tests, the SAT and ACT are not required. If your child submits them, they are considered; if not, the application remains valid. There are data for the ACT: among those who submitted it, half scored 22 or higher. No SAT range was reported.
And regarding transfers: in the fall of 2023, 356 undergraduate students entered this university for the first time after studying at another institution. Compared with similar schools, that number falls in the lower half—but that depends on the school's size, not necessarily on how open it is to transfer students. What we do not know, because the school did not report it, is how many of the students who transferred in actually stayed and graduated or how many prior credits it accepted. Ask the admissions office directly.
The Listed Price Versus the Price Actually Paid
At University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, among 149 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid, paid the in-state or in-district rate, and had EFC records showing family income below $30,000, the average net price was $7,953. Among 178 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $12,706; among 321 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $17,500. For dependent students, the band combines their parents' income with their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (149 students) and the average for the highest-income band (321 students) is $9,547. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $14,347.
The price they advertise is not the same as the price students pay. Here, for students with low income, the average net price was $7,953 in the 2022-23 academic year.
The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at this public institution, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average for students receiving grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships; it also uses that rate. If your family lives outside the state or district, the calculation is different. Ask about it before applying.
Grants, Loans, and Who Signs What
In the 2022-23 year, 67 out of every 100 students received some form of aid that does not have to be repaid—grants or scholarships—with an average of $5,407 per year among recipients. The Pell Grant, specifically for low-income families, reached 29 out of every 100. The difference between those two figures probably includes state, institutional, or other sources of aid that this report does not fully separate. It is worth asking exactly which programs make up that difference.
Now for the debt, and I am not going to turn down the volume here: 50 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal student loan that year, averaging $5,830 per borrower. Compared with similar schools, that percentage of students with loans is on the high side. Here, financing with debt is the norm, not the exception.
If your child borrowed a similar amount in each of the program's four years, the total would be around $23,320, not counting interest. That figure is determined before the first signature, not at the end of the fourth year when there is no turning back. And an important clarification: that average covers only federal loans in the student's name. It does not include anything a parent signs for through a Parent PLUS loan, bank debt, or credit cards. Nor is it the total debt someone has when graduating—that would require adding together several years, and that information is not in this report.
This percentage describes other families, not yours. The amount your child would need to borrow depends on their own financial aid letter. Wait for it before making a commitment.
The institution also reports participating in a "Promise"-type program to help manage tuition. It is worth asking admissions exactly what it covers and who qualifies.
Campus Life, Support, and What You Should Not Assume
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point does have institution-provided housing, with reported capacity for 3,462 students, and it does not require all first-time students to live there—which does not mean that no program requires it; you need to ask about your child's specific situation. It also offers meal plans, with the number of meals varying by the plan selected. The existence of an option does not guarantee a space: ask about the rate for the year, the application deadline, and whether there is a waiting list.
There is an ROTC opportunity, with the Army branch confirmed in writing in the report. Navy and Air Force are not marked, which does not mean they are impossible—it means you need to ask directly if your child is interested in another branch.
The university competes in intercollegiate athletics and is affiliated with the NCAA, with reported membership in football, basketball, baseball, and track and field. If your child wants to continue competing, this is only the starting point: write directly to the coach of the sport that interests them and ask about roster availability, division, and athletic scholarships, in writing.
Regarding instructional format, the university offers distance education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, but only 7 out of every 100 undergraduate students take all their courses through distance education. The vast majority, 93 out of every 100, combine it with in-person classes. If your child is interested in a fully online program, confirm the exact level and major.
The library has employed staff, physical and digital collections, and interlibrary lending. Reported support services include combined academic and career counseling, employment services, on-campus child care, specific support for veterans and military members—including participation in Yellow Ribbon—and a dedicated point of contact for disability services. The reporting of these services confirms that they exist; it does not confirm their quality or how many people use them. Ask about that in person.
Those Who Stay and Those Who Finish
This is perhaps the most important figure in the entire article, and I want to give it to you plainly.
Of the cohort that entered in 2017 as full-time bachelor's-degree-seeking students, 56 out of every 100 had graduated from that same institution within six years. At four years—the timeframe most families budget for—the figure falls to 38 out of every 100. There is a difference of 18 points between a four-year plan and a six-year plan. That matters because every additional semester has a real cost, and it is worth asking the university, in writing, how long the program your child is interested in actually tends to take and how required courses are scheduled.
Compared with the other 518 similar schools, this six-year graduation rate is above the group's median.
A related but different figure: of the cohort that entered in 2022, 75 out of every 100 were still enrolled at the school or had already graduated one year later—what is called the retention rate. Compared with similar schools, it falls just below the middle of the group. This figure does not separate those who stayed from those who had already graduated, nor does it tell you what happened to everyone else: transferring to another university and continuing to study is counted differently from leaving school entirely, and the data do not distinguish between those situations.
There is another, broader view: among the cohort that entered between 2015 and 2016—including both full-time and part-time students—and was followed for eight years, 58 out of every 100 completed a degree or certificate from this school. Among Pell Grant recipients, the figure was 53 out of every 100, seven points below the group without Pell. For 15 out of every 100, enrollment status was unknown at the reporting cutoff—which does not mean they dropped out, only that the report was unable to determine where they were.
None of these figures predicts what will happen to your particular child. They are institutional averages for entire cohorts, with stories the spreadsheet does not tell. But they do give you an honest picture of a school where the majority finish, though not always within four years, and where it is worth discussing the academic plan early, not after paying for two years.
Putting the Pieces Together
You now know one of the three pieces you need to make a decision: what University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point really is, how people get in, what it truly costs, and what happens afterward to those who enroll. It is a medium-sized public university in a Wisconsin town, with fairly accessible admission, a relatively low listed price compared with its peers, a Latino community that is still small, and a majority of students who do finish, although many need more than four years.
What remains is to combine this with what your child actually wants to study and what they have built so far.
A real plan comes from that combination—the university, the student, and the family. This article gives you the first piece as clearly as possible. The other two are up to you.
Note on sources: The information in this article comes from official data reported by the institution to the U.S. Department of Education's IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System), primarily from the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles, as well as from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Best College Aid does not represent University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point or any government agency; this text is an independent public-information effort intended to help families interpret public data.