Harris-Stowe State University
Public College in Saint Louis, MO. Six-year graduation rate 28%. Median 10-year earnings $31,088.
Students who entered Harris-Stowe State University reach a median of $31,088 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. The six-year graduation rate is 28% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $25,930, 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
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.83 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Graduation rate 28% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 28% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. First-year retention is 68% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. Transfer-out runs to 28% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Retention drops to 10% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,086 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $9,418 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($9,827 versus $6,238), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid is widespread — 98% of students receive it, averaging $11,231. 62% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
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 · 250 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 | $9,827 |
| $30–48k | $10,963 |
| $48–75k | $9,814 |
| $75–110k | $8,563 |
| $110k+ | $6,238 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 669 of these 1,086 students, totalling $4,994,311 — an average of $7,465 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (St. Louis City) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Heightened Cash Monitoring (Compliance Audit Late or Missing); School placed on Heightened Cash Monitoring
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)