Pennsylvania State
University-Penn State Greater Allegheny
Public College in McKeesport, PA. Six-year graduation rate 18%. Median 10-year earnings $63,435.
A decade after enrolling, the median Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Greater Allegheny student earns $63,435 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. The six-year graduation rate is 18% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Graduates carry a median of $25,000 in debt — in line with the national norm.
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
- ! Graduation rate 18% — below national average
Admissions
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Greater Allegheny admits 96% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. With 538 applicants, admissions statistics here move a lot on small changes. Yield is low at 20%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 19% 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 | 560–620 | 19 (19%) |
| SAT Math | 520–660 | |
| ACT Composite | — | 1 (1%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Academics
Only 18% finish within six years, so roughly four in five students leave without the credential. Retention of 78% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. With 33% transferring out, this functions substantially as a stepping stone. A 9:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 360 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $15,574 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. The income table below is the number that matters — $10,600 at $0–30k versus $22,758 at $110k+. 83% of students receive grant aid, averaging $11,758 — common but not automatic. 60% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
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 · 123 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 | $10,600 |
| $30–48k | $11,053 |
| $48–75k | $13,420 |
| $75–110k | $20,009 |
| $110k+ | $22,758 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 215 of these 360 students, totalling $1,320,706 — an average of $6,143 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Allegheny 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)