Bethel University
Private College in McKenzie, TN. Six-year graduation rate 35%. Median 10-year earnings $47,482.
Ten years after entry, the median Bethel University student earns $47,482 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 35% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Graduates leave owing a median of $27,249 — a substantial load to service on these earnings.
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
Bethel University accepts 60% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. The applicant pool is small at 1,486, which makes year-over-year comparisons unreliable. 32% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. The score bands below rest on the 11% 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 | 410–570 | 30 (11%) |
| SAT Math | 420–550 | |
| ACT Composite | 15–21 | 206 (88%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Bethel University →Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 35% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Just 54% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. 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: 10% return, against 54% full-time. The 15:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,661 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $13,112 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($11,871 versus $15,163), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. 87% of students get grant aid averaging $15,327, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Most students borrow — 62% 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 · 370 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 | $11,871 |
| $30–48k | $17,356 |
| $48–75k | $11,713 |
| $75–110k | $10,473 |
| $110k+ | $15,163 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,037 of these 1,661 students, totalling $7,249,944 — an average of $6,991 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Carroll 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)