Appalachian State University
Public College in Boone, NC. Six-year graduation rate 75%. Median 10-year earnings $51,836.
Students who entered Appalachian State University land at a median of $51,836 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. Completion is a strength: 75% of students finish within six years. Median debt at graduation is $20,231, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.5 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
Appalachian State University admits 90% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. The applicant pool is large — 24,614 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Yield is low at 18%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. 9% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 570–660 | 354 (9%) |
| SAT Math | 550–620 | |
| ACT Composite | 21–27 | 921 (23%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Appalachian State University →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 75% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. Retention is strong at 84%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. 18% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. The part-time picture is harder: 73% return, against 84% full-time. The student-faculty ratio is 16:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 19,304 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $14,978 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $9,325 at the $0–30k band to $22,382 at $110k+. Grant aid is limited — 44% of students receive any. Federal borrowing reaches 37% of students.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 4,212 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $9,325 |
| $30–48k | $11,600 |
| $48–75k | $15,204 |
| $75–110k | $20,840 |
| $110k+ | $22,382 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 7,102 of these 19,304 students, totalling $44,009,738 — an average of $6,197 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Watauga County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)