Kent State
University at Kent
Public Research University in Kent, OH. Six-year graduation rate 64%. Median 10-year earnings $45,388.
Students who entered Kent State University at Kent land at a median of $45,388 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. 64% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Graduates carry a median of $24,500 in debt — in line with the national norm.
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
Admission is not the constraint here: 86% of applicants are accepted. The applicant pool is large — 24,611 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Yield sits at 20% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. 17% 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 | 510–630 | 748 (17%) |
| SAT Math | 500–610 | |
| ACT Composite | 18–25 | 1,858 (43%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Kent State University at Kent →Academics
64% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. First-year retention of 81% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. A 17% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 54% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 18,577 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $21,278 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $15,280 at the $0–30k band to $26,278 at $110k+. About 82% get grants averaging $9,904, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing reaches 53% of students.
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 · 4,225 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 | $15,280 |
| $30–48k | $15,718 |
| $48–75k | $17,296 |
| $75–110k | $23,685 |
| $110k+ | $26,278 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 9,836 of these 18,577 students, totalling $64,316,816 — an average of $6,539 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Portage 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)