Kentucky State University
Public College in Frankfort, KY. Six-year graduation rate 35%. Median 10-year earnings $36,382.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $36,382, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Only 35% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Graduates carry a median of $25,938 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
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.71 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Graduation rate 35% — below national average
Admissions
With an acceptance rate of 96%, Kentucky State University takes nearly everyone who applies. Only 1,453 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. Yield sits at 27% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. 21% of enrolled first-years submitted an ACT 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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | 14–17 | 80 (21%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Kentucky State University →Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 35% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. 64% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. A 20% 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.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,317 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $9,397 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($10,225 versus $17,285), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid is widespread — 89% of students receive it, averaging $11,446. Borrowing is widespread: 66% 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 · 314 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 | $10,225 |
| $30–48k | $6,739 |
| $48–75k | $5,256 |
| $75–110k | $1,958 |
| $110k+ | $17,285 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 866 of these 1,317 students, totalling $6,184,520 — an average of $7,141 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Franklin County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Heightened Cash Monitoring (Financial Statement Late or Missing); School placed on Heightened Cash Monitoring
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)