Oakwood University
Private College in Huntsville, AL. Six-year graduation rate 45%. Median 10-year earnings $42,488.
Students who entered Oakwood University land at a median of $42,488 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. The six-year graduation rate is 45%, meaning about three in five students who start do not finish. Median debt at graduation reaches $27,000, heavy enough to shape the years right after the 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
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.64 — elevated (above 0.60)
Admissions
At 45%, the acceptance rate makes Oakwood University a school worth applying to with alternatives in hand. 1,873 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. About 30% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range.
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 | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Oakwood University →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 45%, meaning about three in five students who enroll leave without finishing. First-year retention is 71% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. The 14:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,306 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $26,730 annually once grants are applied. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($23,999 versus $27,219), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Most students get help: 95% receive grants worth $14,380 on average. Borrowing is widespread: 58% 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 · 287 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 | $23,999 |
| $30–48k | $22,444 |
| $48–75k | $24,501 |
| $75–110k | $28,074 |
| $110k+ | $27,219 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 757 of these 1,306 students, totalling $5,278,171 — an average of $6,972 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Madison 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)