North Dakota
State University-Main Campus
Public Research University in Fargo, ND. Six-year graduation rate 64%. Median 10-year earnings $62,203.
Students who entered North Dakota State University-Main Campus reach a median of $62,203 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. 64% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Median debt at graduation is $23,199, 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
Admissions
North Dakota State University-Main Campus admits 95% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. 7,228 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. 32% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. 2% 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 | 19–25 | 42 (2%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at North Dakota State University-Main Campus →Academics
64% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. First-year retention is 78% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. A 22% 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. The part-time picture is harder: 36% return, against 78% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 9,567 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $15,596 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $9,370 while those at $110k+ pay $18,856. Grant aid reaches 74% of students at an average of $6,534. 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 · 2,192 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 | $9,370 |
| $30–48k | $11,343 |
| $48–75k | $11,923 |
| $75–110k | $16,082 |
| $110k+ | $18,856 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 5,080 of these 9,567 students, totalling $31,859,651 — an average of $6,272 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Cass 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)