🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants. Affordable on average — net price runs around $11,772/yr. Major value play for in-state residents.

✅ Best for

  • In-state residents (tuition ~$8,270 — major value play)
  • Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Psychology (the two biggest majors)
  • Families wanting a small undergraduate experience

🎯 The reality

  • Bottom-quartile academic profile if: ACT below 18 (admitted-class quartiles; GPA floor is a calibrated heuristic where CDS not yet on file)

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification
M2: Master's - Medium Programs
Total enrollment
2,844
1,000 - 4,999
In-state tuition
$8,270
sticker, before aid
Out-of-state tuition
$17,429
+$9,159 vs in-state
Admit rate
72.6%
Accessible
ACT middle 50%
18–25
composite
Test policy
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earnings
$51,129
median, after entry

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

📊 Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry
$42,154
Earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$51,129
4-year completion
40%
Median debt (completers)
$20,492
Cost of attendance
$18,199
sticker price, not net
Pell-eligible students
35%

💰 True ROI

10.9× return

What families actually pay (after aid) vs. the sticker — and how 10-yr earnings stack against the real cost. Most sites quote sticker; we quote what families really pay.

What families actually pay (4 yrs)
$47,088
$11,772/yr avg net
Aid that hides behind the sticker
$25,708
vs sticker $72,796
10-yr earnings total
$511,290
$51,129/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup actual cost
0.9 yrs
at the median earnings rate

"True ROI" = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (actual 4-yr net price). The actual net is from Scorecard (average across all families); your family's net price will vary by income — see the breakdown above. Earnings are 10 years after enrollment (Scorecard PP-FOS, all majors combined).

💰 What families actually pay

Net price by family income

Net price = sticker price minus grant aid. This is what families actually pay out-of-pocket after scholarships and need-based aid — the most honest affordability signal there is. At University of Wisconsin-Parkside, the average net price is $11,772/yr across all families.

Family income $0-30k
$7,425/yr
Family income $30-48k
$7,592/yr
Family income $48-75k
$11,241/yr
Family income $75-110k
$15,071/yr
Family income $110k+
$17,917/yr

🔎 Earning over $110K? The federal brackets above lump every family from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Need-based aid usually phases out somewhere between $200K and $300K at private colleges — but the exact threshold varies a lot. For a precise estimate based on your family's actual income, assets, and your student's academic profile, use University of Wisconsin-Parkside's official Net Price Calculator:

Get your family's estimate from University of Wisconsin-Parkside →

Opens on University of Wisconsin-Parkside's site. Takes about 10–15 minutes; have your most recent tax return handy.

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41-NPT45). Net price = total cost of attendance minus federal, state, institutional, and other grants. Some brackets may be suppressed for student-privacy reasons (small cohorts). Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates only. The $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — Department of Education hasn't refreshed these brackets since the early 2010s.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at University of Wisconsin-Parkside

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what University of Wisconsin-Parkside actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Business, Management, & Marketing
144 degrees · 38.1%
Typical career outcomes
Financial Analyst $100k Management Analyst (Consultant) $99k Marketing Manager $158k Accountant / Auditor $80k
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
2. Psychology
82 degrees · 21.7%
Typical career outcomes
HR Specialist $68k Market Research Analyst $75k Clinical Psychologist (post-PhD) $93k Social Worker $58k
Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.
3. Health Professions
54 degrees · 14.3%
Typical career outcomes
Registered Nurse $86k Physician Assistant $130k Pharmacist $136k Physical Therapist (post-DPT) $100k
Highest-paying group on this list, but most careers require additional training beyond a 4-year degree.
4. Visual & Performing Arts
51 degrees · 13.5%
Typical career outcomes
Graphic Designer $59k Art Director $106k Multimedia Artist / Animator $99k Musician / Singer $39k
Highly variable. Steady-pay roles cluster in design, illustration, production. Performance careers have very wide income distributions.
5. Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, & Firefighting
47 degrees · 12.4%
Typical career outcomes
Police Officer $72k Federal Special Agent $102k Detective / Investigator $91k
Public-sector careers in law enforcement, corrections, security. Strong pensions, modest base.

Source: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a), bachelor's-level first majors aggregated to 2-digit CIP family. Share is of these top 5 only — not all majors.

💼 Top programs by earnings

Highest-earning majors at University of Wisconsin-Parkside

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major (CIP code). From the federal College Scorecard program-level outcomes.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Computer Science. Bachelor's Degree $64,354 $89,495
Management Information Systems and Services. Bachelor's Degree 16 $53,588 $70,370
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other. Bachelor's Degree 34 $67,130
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 41 $47,648 $64,177
Business/Commerce, General. Bachelor's Degree $45,679 $63,554
Marketing. Bachelor's Degree 31 $40,916 $62,014
Biology, General. Bachelor's Degree 40 $35,990 $60,928
Health and Medical Administrative Services. Bachelor's Degree 15 $50,190 $56,790
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. Bachelor's Degree 40 $30,655 $55,240
Criminal Justice and Corrections. Bachelor's Degree 60 $42,342 $54,156

For full college-vs-major comparison + ROI leaderboards, see /college-outcomes →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at University of Wisconsin-Parkside

CS degrees (annual)
46
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

⚖️ Compare side-by-side

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