Bowie State University
Public College in Bowie, MD. Six-year graduation rate 38%. Median 10-year earnings $54,537.
Ten years after entry, the median Bowie State University student earns $54,537 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 38% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $22,985, 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
Admissions
Bowie State University accepts 72% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. The applicant pool runs to 4,669, typical for a school of this reach. About 27% 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 | — | 1 (1%) |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Bowie State University →Academics
Completion is the problem here: 38% graduate within six years. 68% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. 30% of students transfer out, which reframes what the graduation rate above is measuring. The part-time picture is harder: 31% return, against 68% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 5,207 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $17,287 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Income makes less difference than usual: $17,071 at $0–30k, $24,919 at $110k+. Grant aid is limited — 46% of students receive any. About 45% 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 · 965 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 | $17,071 |
| $30–48k | $16,646 |
| $48–75k | $19,163 |
| $75–110k | $22,808 |
| $110k+ | $24,919 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,329 of these 5,207 students, totalling $26,080,761 — an average of $11,198 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Prince George's 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)