Georgia Southern University
Public Research University in Statesboro, GA. Six-year graduation rate 55%. Median 10-year earnings $53,236.
Ten years after entry, the median Georgia Southern University student earns $53,236 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Six-year completion sits at 55%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Median debt at graduation is $23,250, 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 88%, Georgia Southern University takes nearly everyone who applies. With 20,840 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. Yield sits at 28% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. The score bands below rest on the 35% 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 | 528–583 | 1,829 (35%) |
| SAT Math | 458–550 | |
| ACT Composite | 18–23 | 932 (18%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Georgia Southern University →Academics
Completion is middling: 55% finish inside six years. Retention of 78% 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. Transfer-out runs to 28% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 49% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 21,075 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $15,971 annually once grants are applied. Net price varies modestly by income — $12,162 at $0–30k against $19,789 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 75% of students receive grant aid, averaging $8,093 — common but not automatic. Federal borrowing reaches 38% 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 · 4,604 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 | $12,162 |
| $30–48k | $12,564 |
| $48–75k | $14,965 |
| $75–110k | $18,408 |
| $110k+ | $19,789 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 7,952 of these 21,075 students, totalling $47,459,268 — an average of $5,968 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Bulloch 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)