Westminster University, in Salt Lake City, Utah, has a set of official figures—reported to the United States federal government—that allow you to understand it before your child sets foot there. We are going to walk through them together, in order, without embellishing them and without frightening you with them. By the end, you will know what kind of university it is, what you need to verify, and what your child needs to decide.
Who This University Is
Westminster University is a private, nonprofit, four-year institution. The government classifies it as a master’s university with medium-sized programs, and the highest level it reports offering is the doctorate. That is an institutional fact: It does not tell you whether the specific program your child is interested in extends to that level. You confirm that by asking about the program, not the general classification.
It is in Salt Lake City, within Salt Lake County, in the Salt Lake City-Murray metropolitan area. That tells you where it is, not how to get there or how long your child’s actual commute will take. If you are considering having your child live at home, test it: Drive the route on a weekday at the time of your child’s classes. The actual travel time is almost never what the map says.
A federal classification from 2019-20 describes it as highly residential: At that time, at least half of degree-seeking undergraduates lived in housing owned, controlled, or affiliated with the institution, and at least 80 out of every 100 attended full time. Living on campus is not the same as paying tuition—the room and meal charges are separate, and you will see them later with exact figures.
That same classification places it, in its undergraduate profile, among institutions attended by many transfer students. If your child is considering coming here after studying somewhere else, this is not a decorative fact: Ask in writing which courses will count and which will not. The label says many transfer students enroll; it does not say how many credits they bring or how many are lost along the way.
And one clarification worth making right away: Westminster University is not listed as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. This is not a list that disqualifies or certifies it—these are three specific designations, and it simply does not have any of them. That does not say which students it serves or how your child will feel there. Ask directly: What cultural centers exist, which student organizations are active today, and whether your child can speak with someone who already studies there.
The Size of the Community
Westminster had 1,214 students enrolled in the official fall count. It is a medium-sized school—neither among the giants nor among the tiny institutions, compared with similar selective private schools.
But that large number contains something worth separating: 895 are undergraduates and 319 are graduate students. If your child is entering an undergraduate program, the number that matters is 895, not the total. A substantial portion of this community has already completed a bachelor’s degree and is pursuing something else.
Among undergraduates, 14 out of every 100 are Hispanic or Latino. It is a small minority—above the midpoint among similar selective private schools, but not in the group with the largest Latino presence. That does not take the school off your list. If this matters for your child, ask during the visit: What Latino student group exists, whether there is a cultural center, and whether anyone in the office speaks Spanish. The figure does not answer that; it only says that Latinos are few there today.
There are also more women than men—60 out of every 100—and students ages 25 to 64 are a minority, at 10 out of every 100. The data on where entering students came from simply were not reported for this school: They are not there, and they should not be invented.
How the Academic Year Works
Westminster operates on a 4-1-4 plan: four courses over four months, one month with a single course, and another four courses during the next four months. It is a calendar with fixed dates that are the same for everyone.
The school reported that it accepts credit from AP exams as well as what the government calls “credit for life experience”—learning through independent study, adult courses, work experience, portfolios, previous licenses, or military opportunities. It also accepts credit for military training. Reporting that it accepts these credits does not mean it will automatically grant them to your child. Ask for the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not include the savings in your budget until you have it in hand.
As for programs of study: In the latest year reported, Westminster awarded 327 bachelor’s degrees across 21 program families. The family awarding the most degrees was health professions, with 21 out of every 100 degrees—but no single family accounts for the bulk of them. The range of offerings is fairly broad, in the most diverse quartile among similar schools. Still, 21 families represented in the report are not 21 complete programs and do not guarantee that the specific program your child wants is offered here. Verify it by name.
One figure often draws attention: 8 students per full-time-equivalent faculty member. It is among the lowest ratios at similar schools—in the bottom quartile. But a low ratio is not the same as small classes: The figure compares institution-wide totals; it does not count seats in a classroom. Ask directly how many students are in first-year classes.
The institution also reports structured opportunities: study abroad, undergraduate research, a complete program that can be taken only in the evening or on weekends, and teacher-certification preparation pathways, including state approval of the program. Their reported status confirms that they exist as stated options; it does not say whether they fit what your child wants to study.
What It Is Like to Get In
Westminster does not have open admissions. It reviews several components before saying yes, and two are required: the high school transcript and high school GPA. Other components are not required but are considered if submitted—the applicant’s class rank, completion of the college-preparatory curriculum the university requests, the personal essay, letters of recommendation, work experience, an English-language test for applicants to whom it applies, and whether a family member attended the university. Your child cannot change that last component. If it does not apply, do not spend energy on it—spend it on what is within your child’s control.
The published application fee is $0.
Now for the numbers showing how selective it is in practice. In the most recent cycle, 2,634 young people applied. Of those, 1,813 received offers of admission—69 out of every 100. That is moderate selectivity, slightly below the midpoint among similar selective private schools. Admission is neither guaranteed nor a lottery: The application is reviewed.
But here is the number that truly changes the conversation: Out of every 100 admitted students, only 13 ultimately enrolled. Put another way, out of every 8 young people who received a yes, about one ended up attending. The other seven had a place here and did not take it. And I want to be clear with you: That is not a stain on the school. The federal record does not say why each person chose what they chose. What I can tell you is this—what others decided tells you nothing about what the school will offer you. Wait for your own letter with the net price, which is what the year will actually cost you. With that number in hand, you can decide whether this school stays on your list.
The SAT and ACT are not required here. If you submit them, they are considered; if you do not, the application remains equally valid. Among enrolled students, only 4 out of every 100 submitted SAT scores—a sample so small, with fewer than 30 students, that the published ranges—between 598 and 718 in reading and writing and between 550 and 660 in mathematics—cannot be treated as a threshold or a guarantee. They are almost an anecdotal data point, not a rule of the game.
Regarding transfers: 7 out of every 100 students in a recent cohort are recorded as having transferred to another school within the measured period—a low transfer-out rate compared with similar schools. Separately, in a recent fall, 73 undergraduates enrolled for the first time after studying at another institution. These two numbers should not be added or compared with each other—they are different counts. And neither tells you how many credits are accepted when a student transfers. Ask in writing, with the course list in hand, before your child moves.
What It Costs and What You Will Actually Pay
At Westminster University, among 18 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $17,947. Among 20 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $21,345; among 90 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $30,467. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income with their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band, with 18 students, and the average for the highest-income band, with 90 students, is $12,520. These are group averages, not a prediction of your family’s price. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $28,156.
$17,947 was the average net price for the lowest-income families in academic year 2022-23. That does not mean it is what your family will pay. It helps you determine whether it is worth requesting the financial aid letter.
Because the price changes so much from one income band to another, correctly identifying yours is the first step. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average with grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The letter that governs is the financial aid letter sent to you.
How Students Pay Here in Practice
Almost all—99 out of every 100 degree-seeking students—receive some grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid. Among recipients, the average was $28,275 per year. It is real money, but it is not a price: What determines how much you pay is the amount left after aid, and you know that number only when you have the letter in hand.
The federal Pell Grant, for families with demonstrated financial need, reached 26 out of every 100 students.
And here is the hard truth: 66 out of every 100 undergraduates received a federal loan last year—the majority. Among recipients, the average was $7,212 for that year. If your child borrows a similar amount each year during the four years of the bachelor’s program, the total comes to around $28,848, not counting interest. That number is decided before the first signature, not at the end. Compared with similar schools, financing an education with debt is more common here than at most of them.
The fact that loans are common here does not determine whether your child will need one. That comes from your child’s own financial aid letter, compared with what the family can contribute. If debt appears in the offer, ask for the estimated monthly payment before accepting anything. And remember: That average of $7,212 covers only the student and only federal loans—it does not include anything the parents might borrow separately, credit-card debt, or the total debt carried upon graduation. That complete amount is not in any official report; you would have to calculate it yourselves, year by year.
The institution also reports offering an installment tuition-payment plan, in case you prefer to spread out the cost instead of paying it all at once.
Campus Life, Athletics, and Support
Westminster offers institution-owned housing, although it is not mandatory for anyone—the institution explicitly responded that it does not require all students to live there. It also offers meal plans, with the number of meals varying according to the selected plan. Its maximum reported housing capacity is 496 students. The existence of housing does not guarantee that a bed is available: Ask for the year’s rate, the application deadline, and whether a place is guaranteed or you will be put on a waiting list.
ROTC is available, and Westminster reports something unusual here: all three branches—Army, Navy, and Air Force—plus the Marine Corps option within Navy. Among the thousands of universities in this directory, only 135 list all three branches. That gives you someone to call, not a guarantee that the program operates on this exact campus with openings available. Ask about each pathway by name.
It competes in intercollegiate athletics and is affiliated with the NCAA, with reported membership in basketball and cross-country or track and field. That is institutional membership, not a guaranteed place for your child. If your child is interested, write directly to the coach: Ask whether there is a place on the team, which division they compete in, and whether that sport offers scholarships. Get the answers in writing.
It offers distance education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, although in practice it is marginal among undergraduates: Only 1 out of every 100 students take all their classes at a distance. The library operates with paid staff, a physical and digital collection, and interlibrary lending—it exceeds the spending threshold recorded by the government, although that is only a minimum floor, not a guarantee of specific databases for your child’s program.
It also reports combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services upon program completion, participation in Yellow Ribbon for veterans, a dedicated point of contact for military families, and a published webpage for disability services. Their reported status confirms that they exist as stated services; ask the school directly about their quality and actual scope.
If Your Child Enrolls, Will Your Child Stay? Graduate?
Here we come to the heart of the question that truly matters: If your child enrolls, how likely is your child to finish?
From a recent cohort of 187 first-time, full-time students, 142 met the official retention criterion—76 out of every 100 were still enrolled or had already graduated. That figure is slightly below the midpoint among similar schools—neither outstanding nor alarming. The remaining 45 people are not included in the official outcome: The source does not say whether they transferred, left, or paused their studies.
As for graduation: Of the 359 full-time, bachelor’s-degree-seeking students who started in 2017, 249 graduated here within six years—69 out of every 100. At four years, the figure falls to 58 out of every 100. That difference of 11 points tells you something real: Many of those who graduate here need more than four years to do so. Compared with similar schools, it is above the median.
And there is a broader eight-year measure: From a cohort of 709 students who entered between 2015 and 2016—including full-time and part-time students—66 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school by the August 2023 cutoff. Among Pell Grant recipients, the figure falls to 60 out of every 100—8 points below the figure for nonrecipients. It is a gap worth keeping in mind if your financial situation is of that kind, and a good reason to ask the school directly: Which advisor will be assigned, what emergency assistance is available, and whether the institutional scholarship is renewed each year. Get the answers in writing.
None of these three numbers—retention, graduation within four and six years, and the eight-year outcome—measures the same thing or follows the same group of students. Do not mix them when comparing this university with another one.
What Remains Yours
You now know, in considerable depth, one of the three pieces you need to decide: what Westminster University really is, what it costs, how it admits, how it retains, and how it graduates students. It is a solid piece—but it is only one.
What remains is what your child wants to study and what your child has built so far to get there. And what remains is what your family can pay and is willing to pay, something no national average can decide for you—only the financial aid letter sent to you, with your name on it.
If your child lives far away, verify the actual commute and available housing together. If money concerns you, first identify which income band you fall into and request the letter before ruling out the school because of its listed price. If the Latino community on campus matters to you, ask by name what exists today, not what a general classification says. And if admission makes you nervous, remember the number that truly matters: Here, among those who receive a yes, most ultimately go somewhere else—so when your own letter arrives, read it for what it is: an offer made to you, not a reflection of what others decided.
With those three pieces together—the university, the student, and the family—a real plan begins to take shape.
Source: Data from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and the United States Department of Education, corresponding primarily to the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles, as indicated for each figure. Best College Aid does not represent Westminster University or any agency of the United States government.