What You'll Actually Pay
Price after grants
$18,916 to $36,813 a year, depending on income.
College Scorecard 2024 estimate
See the price at your income ↑Sticker price
Full cost before aid: $66,768 a year. Average need-based aid package: $43,109.Aid and debt
50.1%
receive need-based grants
$34,571
average debt at graduation
3,613
students got merit aid
about 44% of undergraduates
$27,434
average merit award
Getting In
Key dates
Transfer Deadlines
Test scores
SAT, middle 50% of those who submitted: 1230–1360 · 15% of the class submitted
ACT, middle 50% of those who submitted: 26–30 · 26% of the class submitted
28% were in the top 10% of their high school class.
What they value
- Very important
- Course rigor (AP/IB)
- GPA
- Important
- SAT/ACT scores
- Personal essay
- Extracurriculars
- Volunteer work
- Considered
- Class rank
- Recommendations
- Special talent
- Character
- First-gen status
- Work experience
- Not considered
- Legacy status
- Where you're from
- In-state residency
- Demonstrated interest
What this means for you
Marquette rates course rigor as Very Important, and your essay and your activities as Important.
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Rigor means AP, IB, and dual enrollment carry real weight — make sure your mix of AP or IB courses is strong. A strong essay can differentiate an otherwise average application. And depth and leadership in a few activities matter more than a long list.
Marquette doesn't consider demonstrated interest in admissions at all — visits and follow-up emails won't move the needle here.
Source: Common Data Set 2025–26, Section C7 (admissions factors)
Marquette just showed you what it values in an application. Use that to write a Why-Marquette essay that's actually about you — not a template.
Get sourced starting points for your essayStudent Life
36.6% of Marquette classes have fewer than 20 students.
36.6%
under 20 students
51.6%
20 to 49
11.8%
50 or more
Every class section counts, labs and seminars included; first-year courses tend to be larger. Marquette CDS 2025–26, I-3.
14:1
student:faculty ratio
Campus life
61.3%
first-years from out of state
57%
live on campus
Who attends
- White66%
- Hispanic16%
- Asian6.3%
- Black5.5%
- Multiracial3.5%
- Unknown / other1%
Enrolled undergraduates; international students are counted separately and not included. Marquette CDS 2025–26, B2.
Popular majors
Will They Graduate?
68% of Marquette students graduate in 4 years.
68%
finish in 4 years
Entered fall 2019
79.4%
finish in 6 years
Entered fall 2019
92.8%
return after first year
Finishing late means paying for extra semesters, so the 4-year rate is the one that shows the cost.
Students with Pell Grants
71.9% finish in 6 years, against 79.4% of all students.
A 7.5-point gap: Pell Grant students finish less often than students overall.
City & Culture
Beyond the data — what it's actually like to spend four years in Milwaukee.
Marquette's campus sits directly in downtown Milwaukee's Near West Side, built into the city grid a few blocks from Fiserv Forum and Milwaukee's financial district rather than set apart on its own greenspace.
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Lake Michigan's downtown lakefront and the Historic Third Ward are a short walk or rideshare away.
The City
Major city
Milwaukee, WI
Best For
Notable alumni
Notable Alumni
Patrick E. Haggerty
Co-founder, former president and chairman of Texas Instruments; graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in electrical engineering from Marquette in 1936 and led TI's growth into a global semiconductor leader
Class of 1936
Chris Farley
Comedian and Saturday Night Live cast member; graduated from Marquette in 1986 with a double major in communications and theatre
Class of 1986
Dwyane Wade
NBA Hall of Famer and 3-time champion with the Miami Heat; led Marquette to the 2003 Final Four before leaving after his junior year for the 2003 NBA draft
Gail Collins
Longtime New York Times op-ed columnist and author; earned her B.A. from Marquette in 1976
Class of 1976
Alumni selected for name recognition and range of fields. Not from the Common Data Set.
Traditions
Traditions
National Marquette Day
A tradition for more than 30 years: alumni around the world gather at watch parties for a designated home men's basketball game each winter, paired with campus spirit events and Milwaukee-area pregame receptions.
St. Joan of Arc Chapel
A Gothic chapel dating to the early 15th century, moved from France and rebuilt at the center of campus. By far the oldest structure in Milwaukee, it remains in daily use for Mass, prayer and weddings.
Weekend escapes from Milwaukee
Weekend Escapes
Within driving distance from Milwaukee
Chicago, Illinois
1 hour 30 minutesA straight shot down I-94 to a major city with its own museums and lakefront, the reciprocal trip Chicago-area students make north to Milwaukee.
Madison, Wisconsin
1 hour 20 minutesWisconsin's state capital and a classic Big Ten college town, built around the University of Wisconsin and the Capitol Square farmers market.
Door County, Wisconsin
2 hours 45 minutesA Lake Michigan peninsula of small harbor towns, cherry orchards and fish boils — Wisconsin's classic summer getaway.
Getting there and game days
Getting There & Game Days
Nearest airport
Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE)
15 minutes from campus
For international flights: Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) — about 1 hour 45 minutes by car.
Pro sports nearby
- Milwaukee Bucks NBA
- Milwaukee Brewers MLB
- Green Bay Packers NFLAbout 2 hours 45 minutes to Lambeau Field away
Internships and jobs nearby
Career Proximity
Marquette's campus borders downtown Milwaukee directly, putting the city's insurance, financial-services and manufacturing employers within walking or short rideshare distance — relevant given business and marketing is the school's single largest major.
Top Industries Nearby
Major Employers
- Northwestern Mutual
- Rockwell Automation
- GE HealthCare
- Fiserv
- Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin
Downtown Milwaukee, adjoining campus
Who thrives here
Who Thrives Here
Marquette admits 78.0% of applicants, a wide-open door that puts the fit question ahead of the admission question for most families. The campus sits directly in downtown Milwaukee, built into the city grid rather than set apart on its own quad, and at its physical and spiritual center is the St. Joan of Arc Chapel — a Gothic chapel built in early-15th-century France and moved stone by stone to Marquette's campus, still used daily for Mass and prayer as what the university calls "the heart of this Catholic, Jesuit university community." Business and marketing is the largest major at 26.8% of degrees conferred, with biological sciences (13.9%) and social sciences (11.6%) rounding out the top three — a practical, career-oriented mix. 57% of undergraduates live on campus; Greek life participation isn't reported in Marquette's CDS filing. The trade-off to weigh: 92.8% of first-years return for sophomore year and 79.4% graduate within six years, but only 68.0% finish in four — worth planning a five-year budget as a real possibility. On cost, Marquette is more generous than its $55,090 sticker suggests: the school meets 84.8% of demonstrated need on average, and students who borrow graduate with $34,571 in average debt. More than 4 in 10 undergraduates also receive merit aid averaging $27,434, on top of any need-based award.