Buena Vista University
Private College in Storm Lake, IA. Six-year graduation rate 62%. Median 10-year earnings $49,156.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $49,156 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Six-year completion sits at 62%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Median debt at graduation is $25,000, 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
Buena Vista University accepts 78% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. With 1,389 applicants, admissions statistics here move a lot on small changes. Yield sits at 21% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 33% of enrolled first-years submitted an ACT score, and test-optional applicants are not represented in them.
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 | 19–26 | 74 (33%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Buena Vista University →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 62%, meaning about two in five students who enroll leave without finishing. First-year retention is 76% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. The 13:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. This is a private nonprofit four-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,378 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $19,704 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $12,901 while those at $110k+ pay $24,967. Grant aid is widespread — 91% of students receive it, averaging $23,168. Borrowing is widespread: 70% 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 · 217 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 | $12,901 |
| $30–48k | $14,838 |
| $48–75k | $18,094 |
| $75–110k | $19,571 |
| $110k+ | $24,967 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 960 of these 1,378 students, totalling $6,817,045 — an average of $7,101 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Buena Vista 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)