Grand Valley
State University
Public College in Allendale, MI. Six-year graduation rate 67%. Median 10-year earnings $56,118.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $56,118 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Completion is a strength: 67% of students finish within six years. Median debt at graduation is $24,500, 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
- ! Mobility score 0.8 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
83% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. The applicant pool is large — 27,059 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Only 19% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. Read the score bands below as the middle 50% of submitted scores, not a threshold to clear.
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 | 480–600 | 2,221 (53%) |
| SAT Math | 460–590 | |
| ACT Composite | 22–30 | 182 (4%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Grand Valley State University →Academics
A 67% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. 76% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. Transfer-out runs to 14% — 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 48% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. The 15:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 19,073 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $17,198 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. The income table below is the number that matters — $12,272 at $0–30k versus $22,534 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 76% of students at an average of $9,741. 51% 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 · 4,814 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 | $12,272 |
| $30–48k | $11,902 |
| $48–75k | $12,861 |
| $75–110k | $16,609 |
| $110k+ | $22,534 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 9,645 of these 19,073 students, totalling $61,839,091 — an average of $6,412 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Ottawa 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)