Ohio University-Main Campus
Public Research University in Athens, OH. Six-year graduation rate 65%. Median 10-year earnings $52,581.
Students who entered Ohio University-Main Campus land at a median of $52,581 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. The six-year graduation rate of 66% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $21,056, neither a bargain nor a burden.
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 0.8 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
85% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. The applicant pool is large — 27,486 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. A 19% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class. The score bands below rest on the 12% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.
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 | 550–650 | 542 (12%) |
| SAT Math | 540–640 | |
| ACT Composite | 22–28 | 1,424 (32%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Ohio University-Main Campus →Academics
66% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. Retention is strong at 84%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. 20% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 35% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 18,456 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $21,907 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $15,673 at the $0–30k band to $24,492 at $110k+. About 70% get grants averaging $9,668, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing reaches 49% 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 · 4,558 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 | $15,673 |
| $30–48k | $15,160 |
| $48–75k | $19,078 |
| $75–110k | $23,689 |
| $110k+ | $24,492 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 9,079 of these 18,456 students, totalling $56,724,339 — an average of $6,248 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Athens 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)