Jackson State University
Public Research University in Jackson, MS. Six-year graduation rate 51%. Median 10-year earnings $39,060.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $39,060, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. The six-year graduation rate is 51%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Debt is the pressure point: a median of $30,470 at graduation. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 3.0% of students move 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
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.78 — elevated (above 0.60)
Admissions
Jackson State University admits 93% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. With 15,487 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. Only 7% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. 10% 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 | 430–550 | 93 (10%) |
| SAT Math | 390–520 | |
| ACT Composite | 15–20 | 277 (29%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Jackson State University →Academics
51% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 62% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about two in five are gone before sophomore year. Retention drops to 24% 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. As a public four-year university, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 4,769 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $23,450 annually once grants are applied. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($22,869 versus $27,576), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid reaches 81% of students at an average of $8,235. Borrowing is widespread: 82% 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 · 936 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 | $22,869 |
| $30–48k | $22,516 |
| $48–75k | $26,236 |
| $75–110k | $26,388 |
| $110k+ | $27,576 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 3,921 of these 4,769 students, totalling $37,010,410 — an average of $9,439 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Hinds 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)