Henderson State University
Public College in Arkadelphia, AR. Six-year graduation rate 37%. Median 10-year earnings $43,459.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $43,459 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 37% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Graduates carry a median of $19,500 in debt — in line with the national norm. On economic mobility, 2.4% of students travel from the bottom income quintile to the top.
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
82% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. 1,814 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. 21% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction.
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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Henderson State University →Academics
Only 37% finish within six years, so roughly three in five students leave without the credential. Retention of 62% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. Retention drops to 7% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. The 14:1 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 1,491 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $20,444 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Income makes less difference than usual: $23,386 at $0–30k, $19,082 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 87% of students receive it, averaging $10,006. 45% 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 · 287 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 | $23,386 |
| $30–48k | $23,208 |
| $48–75k | $25,051 |
| $75–110k | $17,869 |
| $110k+ | $19,082 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 664 of these 1,491 students, totalling $4,246,428 — an average of $6,395 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Clark 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)