Mary Baldwin University
Private College in Staunton, VA. Six-year graduation rate 39%. Median 10-year earnings $44,427.
Ten years after entry, the median Mary Baldwin University student earns $44,427 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Completion is the weak point: 39% graduate within six years. Median debt at graduation is $26,586, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
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
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 39% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. First-year retention is 67% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. The 34% transfer-out rate is high enough that a large share of this school's students are really passing through. A 15:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,146 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $17,810 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Income makes less difference than usual: $12,717 at $0–30k, $14,806 at $110k+. 95% of students get grant aid averaging $23,791, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Borrowing is widespread: 71% 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 · 299 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 | $12,717 |
| $30–48k | $9,527 |
| $48–75k | $11,537 |
| $75–110k | $14,801 |
| $110k+ | $14,806 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 810 of these 1,146 students, totalling $5,206,419 — an average of $6,428 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Staunton City) — 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)