Belhaven University
Private College in Jackson, MS. Six-year graduation rate 49%. Median 10-year earnings $46,440.
Ten years after entry, the median Belhaven University student earns $46,440 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 49%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Median debt at graduation is $26,333, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree. It also moves people — 3.2% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution to the top.
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
Admissions
Belhaven University admits 50% of applicants and is genuinely selective — roughly one in two applicants are turned away. The applicant pool runs to 2,637, typical for a school of this reach. Only 19% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. The score bands below rest on the 8% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.
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 | 490–668 | 20 (8%) |
| SAT Math | 520–630 | |
| ACT Composite | 19–24 | 159 (75%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Belhaven University →Academics
49% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. First-year retention is 68% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. The part-time picture is harder: 40% return, against 68% full-time. At 12:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,427 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $16,299 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. The income table below is the number that matters — $10,551 at $0–30k versus $20,928 at $110k+. Most students get help: 85% receive grants worth $17,865 on average. Most students borrow — 72% take federal loans to cover the gap.
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 · 233 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 | $10,551 |
| $30–48k | $12,820 |
| $48–75k | $16,967 |
| $75–110k | $19,476 |
| $110k+ | $20,928 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,024 of these 1,427 students, totalling $8,015,819 — an average of $7,828 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Hinds 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)