Keene State College
Public College in Keene, NH. Six-year graduation rate 60%. Median 10-year earnings $54,368.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $54,368 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Six-year completion sits at 60%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $25,749, 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
- ! Mobility score 0.9 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
With an acceptance rate of 90%, Keene State College takes nearly everyone who applies. 5,314 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. Only 15% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere.
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 Keene State College →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 60%, meaning about two in five students who enroll leave without finishing. 79% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in five are gone before sophomore year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. A 17:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,681 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $19,997 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $12,192 while those at $110k+ pay $22,928. Grant aid is widespread — 97% of students receive it, averaging $10,808. 67% 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 · 727 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 | $12,192 |
| $30–48k | $12,536 |
| $48–75k | $16,045 |
| $75–110k | $18,004 |
| $110k+ | $22,928 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,809 of these 2,681 students, totalling $11,204,851 — an average of $6,194 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Cheshire 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)