Ball State University
Public Research University in Muncie, IN. Six-year graduation rate 62%. Median 10-year earnings $51,833.
Ten years after entry, the median Ball State University student earns $51,833 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. 62% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $23,250, neither a bargain nor a burden.
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 0.8 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
With an acceptance rate of 86%, Ball State University takes nearly everyone who applies. 21,093 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. About 20% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. 37% 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 | 550–640 | 1,372 (37%) |
| SAT Math | 530–620 | |
| ACT Composite | 20–24 | 37 (1%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Ball State University →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 62%, meaning about two in five students who enroll leave without finishing. Retention of 78% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. A 22% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. The part-time picture is harder: 52% return, against 78% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 13,770 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $13,599 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. The income table below is the number that matters — $7,834 at $0–30k versus $23,479 at $110k+. About 72% get grants averaging $12,287, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 46% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 3,783 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 | $7,834 |
| $30–48k | $9,848 |
| $48–75k | $14,333 |
| $75–110k | $19,567 |
| $110k+ | $23,479 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 6,339 of these 13,770 students, totalling $39,680,437 — an average of $6,260 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Delaware 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)