Pennsylvania State
University-Penn State Hazleton
Public College in Hazleton, PA. Six-year graduation rate 22%. Median 10-year earnings $63,435.
Students who entered Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Hazleton reach a median of $63,435 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. Only 22% finish within six years, so roughly four in five students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $25,000, 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
- ! Graduation rate 22% — below national average
Admissions
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Hazleton admits 96% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. The applicant pool is small at 585, which makes year-over-year comparisons unreliable. 26% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. The score bands below rest on the 23% 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 | 550–660 | 33 (23%) |
| SAT Math | 540–630 | |
| ACT Composite | — | 3 (2%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Academics
Only 22% finish within six years, so roughly four in five students leave without the credential. Retention of 75% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. 38% of students transfer out, which reframes what the graduation rate above is measuring. At 12:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 508 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $17,512 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. The income table below is the number that matters — $11,770 at $0–30k versus $23,218 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 85% of students receive it, averaging $12,184. 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 · 199 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 | $11,770 |
| $30–48k | $14,756 |
| $48–75k | $13,902 |
| $75–110k | $19,777 |
| $110k+ | $23,218 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 305 of these 508 students, totalling $1,871,589 — an average of $6,136 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Luzerne County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026