Milligan University
Private College in Milligan, TN. Six-year graduation rate 63%. Median 10-year earnings $46,641.
Ten years after entry, the median Milligan University student earns $46,641 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 63%, meaning about two in five students who start do not finish. Median debt at graduation is $25,219, 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
- ! Mobility score 1.0 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
Milligan University accepts 72% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. The applicant pool is small at 1,079, which makes year-over-year comparisons unreliable. 28% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. 12% 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 | 573–650 | 26 (12%) |
| SAT Math | 560–618 | |
| ACT Composite | 22–27 | 126 (59%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Milligan University →Academics
63% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Retention is strong at 82%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. Transfer-out runs to 27% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. At 10:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 783 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $21,165 annually once grants are applied. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $15,118 at the $0–30k band to $26,390 at $110k+. Most students get help: 99% receive grants worth $30,885 on average. Federal borrowing reaches 48% 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 · 238 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 | $15,118 |
| $30–48k | $14,635 |
| $48–75k | $16,351 |
| $75–110k | $22,348 |
| $110k+ | $26,390 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 376 of these 783 students, totalling $2,448,485 — an average of $6,512 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Carter 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)