Illinois Wesleyan University

Private · Selective · IL

Photo: Emilymarvin (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationIL · Midwest

SettingUrban

Undergrads1,582

Student:faculty12:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate65.8%

6-yr grad rate74.7%

Drop-out rate20%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$58k

Out-of-state tuition$58k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity36.1%

Gender diversity49.6%

International5.2%

Identity—

Overview

Illinois Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts university in Bloomington, Illinois, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in the mid-nineteenth century and sharing a twin-city community with the much larger Illinois State University next door. It has built a reputation for turning a broad liberal arts foundation into strong pre-professional results, particularly in nursing, music, and the sciences, and it draws a student body that wants small-college intimacy without giving up serious pre-professional training.

Academics

The School of Nursing and the School of Music are particular signature programs, drawing students who want conservatory- or clinical-level training alongside a genuine liberal arts degree rather than a standalone professional program. Theatre and the sciences, especially biology and chemistry feeding pre-health tracks, are also well-regarded. A distinctive month-long May Term lets students take a single immersive course, often involving travel or hands-on project work, outside the standard two-semester structure, a real departure from the typical academic calendar. Class sizes are small and discussion-based across departments, and Bloomington-Normal's presence as State Farm Insurance's headquarters city gives finance and actuarial-minded students unusually direct local internship access.

Campus & student life

The campus sits in a classic small-city Midwestern setting, with Bloomington-Normal offering more amenities than a typical small-college town because of Illinois State's much larger presence next door. Student life centers on a residential, close-knit campus with active Greek life and NCAA Division III athletics as the Titans. The Ames Library and the Shirk Center anchor academic and athletic life respectively, and the compact campus footprint means most students walk everywhere, reinforcing the tight-knit, everyone-knows-everyone feel typical of a school this size.

Getting in

Applications are read holistically, with attention to fit for pre-professional programs like nursing and music, the latter of which typically requires an audition as part of the process. Merit scholarships are a meaningful part of how the school attracts strong students given its private-tuition price point, and demonstrated interest in a specific pre-professional track can meaningfully strengthen an application.

After graduation

Nursing and music graduates place well into clinical and performance or teaching careers respectively, and the sciences feed a strong pre-health pipeline into medical and other graduate health programs. Bloomington's insurance-industry presence, anchored by State Farm's headquarters, gives finance, actuarial science, and business graduates an unusually direct regional pipeline into that industry.

Worth knowing

The May Term is a defining quirk of the calendar, giving students a dedicated month for a single deep-dive course, travel course, or research project that a standard two-semester school wouldn't offer, a real point of distinction worth understanding before enrolling.

iwu.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate39.3%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1120–1340 · ACT 25–30

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early actionNov 15

AdmissionRolling

Verified from the school’s admissions page ↗

Applying (2026-27 cycle)

Apply through Common App or Own application.

Priority / scholarshipDec 15

Illinois Wesleyan offers two nonbinding Early Action rounds (Nov. 15 and Dec. 15); it does not offer a binding Early Decision plan, and admission continues on a rolling basis after those rounds.

Verified from the school’s admissions pages ↗