Bluefield University
Private College in Bluefield, VA. Six-year graduation rate 18%. Median 10-year earnings $48,896.
Students who entered Bluefield University land at a median of $48,896 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. The six-year graduation rate is 18% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Graduates carry a median of $21,855 in debt — in line with the national norm.
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
- ! Graduation rate 18% — below national average
Admissions
At 59%, the acceptance rate makes Bluefield University a school worth applying to with alternatives in hand. With 1,386 applicants, admissions statistics here move a lot on small changes. Only 19% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere.
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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Bluefield University →Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 18% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. First-year retention is 61% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. With 32% transferring out, this functions substantially as a stepping stone. At 14:1, 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 697 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $22,216 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Income makes less difference than usual: $25,807 at $0–30k, $25,430 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 90% of students receive it, averaging $18,105. Most students borrow — 71% 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 · 186 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 | $25,807 |
| $30–48k | $25,454 |
| $48–75k | $25,732 |
| $75–110k | $25,374 |
| $110k+ | $25,430 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 494 of these 697 students, totalling $3,388,136 — an average of $6,859 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Tazewell 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)