Pennsylvania State
University-Penn State Shenango
Public College in Sharon, PA. Six-year graduation rate 32%. Median 10-year earnings $63,435.
Ten-year median earnings of $63,435 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. The six-year graduation rate is 32% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. 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 32% — below national average
Admissions
With an acceptance rate of 92%, Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Shenango takes nearly everyone who applies. The applicant pool is small at 205, which makes year-over-year comparisons unreliable. About 28% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range.
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 | — | 1 (2%) |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | 1 (2%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Academics
Only 32% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential. Retention of 66% 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. A 21% 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 7:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 261 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $18,383 annually once grants are applied. Net price varies modestly by income — $14,946 at $0–30k against $22,729 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Most students get help: 95% receive grants worth $11,375 on average. 56% 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 · 69 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 | $14,946 |
| $30–48k | $15,847 |
| $48–75k | $14,896 |
| $75–110k | $17,600 |
| $110k+ | $22,729 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 145 of these 261 students, totalling $855,188 — an average of $5,898 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Mercer 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)