Fairmont State University
Public College in Fairmont, WV. Six-year graduation rate 44%. Median 10-year earnings $46,857.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $46,857 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Six-year completion sits at 44%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Median debt at graduation is $21,000, 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
With an acceptance rate of 99%, Fairmont State University takes nearly everyone who applies. 1,955 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. About 34% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. Score ranges below describe the middle half of score submitters among enrolled first-years; students who applied test-optional 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 | 450–560 | 507 (78%) |
| SAT Math | 360–510 | |
| ACT Composite | 17–23 | 201 (31%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Fairmont State University →Academics
44% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 67% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. 18% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. The part-time picture is harder: 37% return, against 67% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,704 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $11,328 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price varies modestly by income — $8,434 at $0–30k against $6,945 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 79% of students at an average of $7,720. 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 · 644 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 | $8,434 |
| $30–48k | $8,679 |
| $48–75k | $10,505 |
| $75–110k | $11,184 |
| $110k+ | $6,945 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,202 of these 2,704 students, totalling $8,543,261 — an average of $7,108 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Marion 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)