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Private College

John Brown University

Private College in Siloam Springs, AR. Six-year graduation rate 72%. Median 10-year earnings $53,907.

Verdict Mixed outcomes
John Brown University · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$53,907
Median debt at grad
$21,250
Mobility score
2.1
% bottom→top quintile
Graduation rate
71.8%
Federal loan default
0%

The median ten-year earnings figure of $53,907 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate of 72% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Graduates carry a median of $21,250 in debt — in line with the national norm. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 2.1% 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.

Green Flags
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags

Admissions

Acceptance rate
76%
Applicants
1,647
Yield rate
30.9%

76% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. 1,647 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. 31% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. 11% 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 550–690 41 (11%)
SAT Math 520–650
ACT Composite 21–28 195 (50%)

IPEDS Admissions · 2024

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Academics

Full-time retention
81%
Transfer-out rate
19%
Student:faculty
15:1

72% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. 81% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. 19% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. At 15:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$21,537
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
96%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
44%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,415 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Net price lands at $21,537 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price varies modestly by income — $17,484 at $0–30k against $24,627 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid is widespread — 96% of students receive it, averaging $21,460. About 44% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.

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.

% receiving grants
99%
Average grant
$23,173

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 378 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 $17,484
$30–48k $17,210
$48–75k $16,655
$75–110k $21,433
$110k+ $24,627

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 625 of these 1,415 students, totalling $3,760,408 — an average of $6,017 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Benton County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$1,007/mo
1 bedroom
$1,115/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$1,347/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
64
Yellow Ribbon
Yes
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare John Brown University with peer institutions

How we evaluate John Brown University

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →