Wells College closed in 5/2024 (U.S. Department of Education IPEDS). The data on this page is historical and kept for reference.
Wells College
Acceptance rate
69.6%
2024
Peer median 69.4%
Tuition per year
$35,166
$50,116 with room and board
Peer median $33,770
“Peers” are all 403 private baccalaureate colleges in the U.S. (by Carnegie Classification).
About
- Type
- Private nonprofit, 4-year
- Location
- Aurora, New York
This collegeRanked colleges nearby
- Setting
- Rural, distant
- Nearest major city
- Syracuse, about 35 mi
- Nearest international airport
- Syracuse Hancock International Airport (SYR), about 40 mi
- Address
- 170 Main Street, Aurora, NY 13026-0500
Rankings & Admission
Peer median 69.4% · all 403 private baccalaureate colleges in the U.S.
Acceptance rate by gender, 2024
In 2020: men 81.1%, women 84.3%.
Cost
2024 cost per year
$50,116
- Undergraduate tuition
- $35,166
- Room and board
- $14,950
Peer median tuition + room and board $46,780 · all 403 private baccalaureate colleges in the U.S.
Tuition rose -6% from 2016 to 2024; room and board rose 15%.
Campus Life
Athletics and varsity athletes NCAA · EADA
No athlete data available for 2025.
No athlete data available for 2024.
| NCAA Division III without football | MEN | WOMEN |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball | 38 | - |
| Basketball | 21 | 11 |
| Soccer | 17 | 15 |
| Lacrosse | 12 | 18 |
| Volleyball | 11 | 12 |
| Swimming | 5 | 9 |
| Field Hockey | - | 11 |
| Softball | - | 11 |
Nearby & Safety
Ranked colleges nearby
-
Hobart and William Smith CollegesGeneva · 16.7 mi
Liberal Arts #60
-
Cornell UniversityIthaca · 23.1 mi
U.S. News #14
-
Syracuse UniversitySyracuse · 34.9 mi
U.S. News #72
-
University of RochesterRochester · 54.2 mi
U.S. News #49
-
Rochester Institute of TechnologyRochester · 54.8 mi
U.S. News #95
-
Binghamton UniversityVestal · 58.6 mi
U.S. News #73
-
Colgate UniversityHamilton · 59.0 mi
Liberal Arts #22
-
Hamilton CollegeClinton · 68.6 mi
Liberal Arts #14
-
University at BuffaloBuffalo · 107.5 mi
U.S. News #85
Peer median 8.9 · all 403 private baccalaureate colleges in the U.S.
Incidents, 2019–2021
From the Clery Act campus safety reports schools file, covering on-campus, non-campus and public property.
Notable Alumni
Notable alumni of Wells College include Frances Cleveland (First Lady of the United States, 1886–1889 and 1893–1897), Emma Lampert Cooper (Painter from Rochester, New York) and Kati Marton (Author and journalist, former ABC News foreign correspondent).
-
Frances Cleveland 1864–1947
First Lady of the United States, 1886–1889 and 1893–1897
-
Emma Lampert Cooper 1855–1920
Painter from Rochester, New York
-
Kati Marton 1949–
Author and journalist, former ABC News foreign correspondent
-
Laura Nader 1930–
Anthropologist, professor at UC Berkeley
-
Kathryn Walker 1943–
Theater, television and film actress
-
Helen Barolini 1925–2023
Writer, editor and translator
-
Charlotte Porter 1857–1942
Poet, translator and cofounder of Poet Lore
-
Faith Whittlesey 1939–2018
U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland
-
Brenda Ueland 1891–1985
Journalist and author of If You Want to Write
More alumni (7, by field)
Politics and law
-
Florence Ledyard Cross Kitchelt 1874–1961
Suffragist and peace advocate
Business
-
Pleasant Rowland 1942–
Creator of the American Girl brand, philanthropist
Science and academia
-
Margarita McCoy 1923–2016
Urban planner and educator
-
Mary Beckerle
Cell biologist, CEO of Huntsman Cancer Institute
Arts and media
-
Elsa Rehmann 1886–1946
Landscape architect known for ecological garden design
-
Catherine Coleman McHugh 1947–2017
American curator
-
Mildred Walker 1905–1998
Novelist who published 12 novels
From Wikidata “educated at” records (including people who attended without graduating), ordered by the number of Wikipedia language editions. Degrees and years follow Wikidata and are left out where it has none.
References and Data Sources
Data from IPEDS (U.S. Department of Education), U.S. News, THE, QS, ARWU and Clery Act campus safety reports. Data insights are written by the Forward Pathway data team from public data.