Paul Quinn College
Private College in Dallas, TX. Six-year graduation rate 27%. Median 10-year earnings $29,288.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $29,288, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Only 27% finish within six years, so roughly three in four students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Median debt at graduation is $23,373, 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
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.80 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Graduation rate 27% — below national average
Admissions
Paul Quinn College admits 40% of applicants and is genuinely selective — roughly three in five applicants are turned away. The applicant pool runs to 3,088, typical for a school of this reach. Yield is low at 14%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling.
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 Paul Quinn College →Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 27% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Retention is weak: only 49% of full-time first-years return, so roughly one in two leave after one year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. A 13% 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 student-faculty ratio is 20:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 592 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $12,709 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($11,443 versus $18,556), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. 94% of students get grant aid averaging $7,703, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Borrowing is widespread: 84% 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 · 147 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 | $11,443 |
| $30–48k | $12,053 |
| $48–75k | $13,626 |
| $75–110k | $15,230 |
| $110k+ | $18,556 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 495 of these 592 students, totalling $3,563,565 — an average of $7,199 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Dallas County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Heightened Cash Monitoring (Financial Responsibility); School placed on Heightened Cash Monitoring
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)