Pennsylvania State
University-Main Campus
Public Research University in University Park, PA. Six-year graduation rate 86%. Median 10-year earnings $63,435.
A decade after enrolling, the median Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus student earns $63,435 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. 86% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Median debt at graduation is $25,000, 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.
- ✓ Graduation rate 86% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 61% puts Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. The applicant pool is large — 88,478 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Yield is low at 17%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 31% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, and test-optional applicants are not represented in them.
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 | 620–700 | 2,848 (31%) |
| SAT Math | 620–720 | |
| ACT Composite | 27–32 | 494 (5%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus →Academics
A 86% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. First-year retention of 93% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. A 16:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor. The undergraduate body runs to 42,223, large enough that student experience varies widely by program.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 41,862 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $27,889 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $19,845 at the $0–30k band to $37,831 at $110k+. About 50% get grants averaging $14,076, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 40% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 9,004 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 | $19,845 |
| $30–48k | $20,049 |
| $48–75k | $25,667 |
| $75–110k | $31,834 |
| $110k+ | $37,831 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 16,852 of these 41,862 students, totalling $107,973,066 — an average of $6,407 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Centre 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)