Bridgewater State University
Public College in Bridgewater, MA. Six-year graduation rate 53%. Median 10-year earnings $57,466.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $57,466 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 53%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Median debt at graduation is $24,286, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
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 88%, Bridgewater State University takes nearly everyone who applies. 9,096 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. Yield is low at 19%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. 8% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
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 | 550–650 | 126 (8%) |
| SAT Math | 510–613 | |
| ACT Composite | 25–30 | 9 (1%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Bridgewater State University →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 53%, meaning about one in two students who enroll leave without finishing. First-year retention is 75% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. Retention drops to 42% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. The student-faculty ratio is 17:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 7,899 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $15,646 annually once grants are applied. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $10,007 at the $0–30k band to $21,176 at $110k+. 67% of students receive grant aid, averaging $10,024 — common but not automatic. Borrowing is widespread: 78% take federal loans.
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 · 1,515 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 | $10,007 |
| $30–48k | $11,579 |
| $48–75k | $13,559 |
| $75–110k | $16,904 |
| $110k+ | $21,176 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 6,127 of these 7,899 students, totalling $28,831,046 — an average of $4,706 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Plymouth 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)