Eastern Kentucky University
Public College in Richmond, KY. Six-year graduation rate 55%. Median 10-year earnings $45,795.
Ten years after entry, the median Eastern Kentucky University student earns $45,795 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. 56% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $22,500, 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
Eastern Kentucky University accepts 78% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. The applicant pool is large — 17,024 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Yield is low at 20%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. 1% 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 | 440–530 | 9 (1%) |
| SAT Math | 440–550 | |
| ACT Composite | 19–25 | 2,561 (97%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Eastern Kentucky University →Academics
Completion is middling: 56% finish inside six years. Retention of 77% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. The part-time picture is harder: 30% return, against 77% full-time. A 17:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 11,677 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $12,279 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $8,591 while those at $110k+ pay $17,009. Grant aid reaches 83% of students at an average of $10,650. Federal borrowing reaches 44% of students.
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 · 2,601 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 | $8,591 |
| $30–48k | $8,005 |
| $48–75k | $10,382 |
| $75–110k | $14,384 |
| $110k+ | $17,009 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 5,180 of these 11,677 students, totalling $34,540,624 — an average of $6,668 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Madison 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)