Peru State College
Public College in Peru, NE. Six-year graduation rate 38%. Median 10-year earnings $47,071.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $47,071 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Only 38% finish within six years, so roughly three in five students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $21,875, 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
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 38% graduate within six years. 64% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. With 34% transferring out, this functions substantially as a stepping stone. The student-faculty ratio is 17:1 — 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 1,147 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $11,915 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price varies modestly by income — $9,986 at $0–30k against $13,450 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 81% of students at an average of $8,679. Most students borrow — 56% take federal loans to cover the gap.
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 · 211 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 | $9,986 |
| $30–48k | $9,779 |
| $48–75k | $12,845 |
| $75–110k | $12,313 |
| $110k+ | $13,450 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 645 of these 1,147 students, totalling $4,170,728 — an average of $6,466 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Nemaha 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)