Howard Payne University
Private College in Brownwood, TX. Six-year graduation rate 28%. Median 10-year earnings $48,376.
Ten years after entry, the median Howard Payne University student earns $48,376 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Completion is the weak point: 28% graduate within six years. Graduates carry a median of $26,793 in debt — in line with the national norm. It also moves people — 2.1% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution 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
- ! Graduation rate 28% — below national average
Admissions
Howard Payne University accepts 67% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. With 1,189 applicants, admissions statistics here move a lot on small changes. About 27% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. 41% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
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 | 440–610 | 88 (41%) |
| SAT Math | 440–550 | |
| ACT Composite | 16–27 | 36 (17%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Howard Payne University →Academics
Only 28% finish within six years, so roughly three in four students leave without the credential. 52% first-year retention is low enough to be the defining risk of enrolling here. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. With 49% transferring out, this functions substantially as a stepping stone. A 10:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 719 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $25,750 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price varies modestly by income — $24,043 at $0–30k against $24,182 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 87% of students get grant aid averaging $27,099, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Borrowing is widespread: 74% take federal loans.
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 · 202 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 | $24,043 |
| $30–48k | $21,423 |
| $48–75k | $25,917 |
| $75–110k | $23,412 |
| $110k+ | $24,182 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 532 of these 719 students, totalling $5,065,430 — an average of $9,521 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Brown 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)