Drake University
Private College in Des Moines, IA. Six-year graduation rate 73%. Median 10-year earnings $71,901.
Ten-year median earnings of $71,901 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. The six-year graduation rate of 73% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Median debt at graduation is $23,000, 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.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.32 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Drake University accepts 64% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. The applicant pool runs to 9,873, typical for a school of this reach. Yield is low at 10%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. The score bands below rest on the 5% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.
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 | 580–680 | 30 (5%) |
| SAT Math | 530–670 | |
| ACT Composite | 24–29 | 108 (18%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Drake University →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 73% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. Retention is strong at 84%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. A 11:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. This is a private nonprofit four-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically. 2,702 undergraduates makes this a mid-sized institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,669 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price averages $29,565 annually, so cost is the first thing to weigh here. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($25,824 versus $33,126), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid is widespread — 98% of students receive it, averaging $33,072. 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 · 638 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 | $25,824 |
| $30–48k | $23,275 |
| $48–75k | $25,171 |
| $75–110k | $27,408 |
| $110k+ | $33,126 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,201 of these 2,669 students, totalling $7,899,619 — an average of $6,578 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Polk 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)