Delaware State University
Public College in Dover, DE. Six-year graduation rate 39%. Median 10-year earnings $49,307.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $49,307 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Only 39% finish within six years, so roughly three in five students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $26,000, 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
At 47%, the acceptance rate makes Delaware State University a school worth applying to with alternatives in hand. The applicant pool runs to 8,445, typical for a school of this reach. About 34% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 26% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT 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 | 420–520 | 350 (26%) |
| SAT Math | 380–500 | |
| ACT Composite | 20–24 | 33 (2%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Delaware State University →Academics
Completion is the problem here: 39% graduate within six years. 70% 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. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 23% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. At 17:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 4,630 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $13,953 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Net price varies modestly by income — $11,135 at $0–30k against $17,326 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 79% of students at an average of $13,623. 56% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
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 · 1,288 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 | $11,135 |
| $30–48k | $12,452 |
| $48–75k | $15,701 |
| $75–110k | $17,633 |
| $110k+ | $17,326 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,579 of these 4,630 students, totalling $16,589,817 — an average of $6,433 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Kent 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)