Boise State University
Public Research University in Boise, ID. Six-year graduation rate 60%. Median 10-year earnings $51,658.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $51,658 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 60%, meaning about two in five students who start do not finish. Graduates carry a median of $20,500 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
Admissions
With an acceptance rate of 87%, Boise State University takes nearly everyone who applies. The applicant pool is large — 16,082 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. About 24% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range.
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 Boise State University →Academics
Completion is middling: 60% finish inside six years. 79% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in five are gone before sophomore year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. Transfer-out runs to 22% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 47% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 17,081 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $21,583 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Income makes less difference than usual: $18,165 at $0–30k, $25,893 at $110k+. 62% of students receive grant aid, averaging $9,505 — common but not automatic. About 33% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 2,988 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 | $18,165 |
| $30–48k | $17,974 |
| $48–75k | $20,731 |
| $75–110k | $23,573 |
| $110k+ | $25,893 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 5,604 of these 17,081 students, totalling $37,310,907 — an average of $6,658 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Ada 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)