East Tennessee
State University
Public Research University in Johnson City, TN. Six-year graduation rate 53%. Median 10-year earnings $44,859.
Students who entered East Tennessee State University land at a median of $44,859 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. 53% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $19,442, 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
With an acceptance rate of 86%, East Tennessee State University takes nearly everyone who applies. 10,050 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. About 25% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. The score bands below rest on the 7% 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 | 510–620 | 150 (7%) |
| SAT Math | 470–580 | |
| ACT Composite | 19–26 | 1,628 (76%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at East Tennessee State University →Academics
Completion is middling: 53% finish inside six years. Retention of 76% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. A 22% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 62% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 9,807 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $16,286 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $12,433 while those at $110k+ pay $21,193. About 84% get grants averaging $12,618, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 37% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 2,096 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 | $12,433 |
| $30–48k | $14,289 |
| $48–75k | $16,400 |
| $75–110k | $20,588 |
| $110k+ | $21,193 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 3,580 of these 9,807 students, totalling $26,735,316 — an average of $7,468 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Washington 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)