Pfeiffer University
Private College in Misenheimer, NC. Six-year graduation rate 35%. Median 10-year earnings $51,562.
Ten years after entry, the median Pfeiffer University student earns $51,562 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Only 35% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $26,163, 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 35% — below national average
Admissions
Admission is not the constraint here: 96% of applicants are accepted. The applicant pool runs to 1,538, typical for a school of this reach. A 14% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class.
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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Pfeiffer University →Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 35% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. First-year retention is 72% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. The 45% transfer-out rate is high enough that a large share of this school's students are really passing through. The 11:1 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 654 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $19,660 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $16,167 while those at $110k+ pay $24,513. Most students get help: 97% receive grants worth $26,152 on average. 70% 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 · 195 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 | $16,167 |
| $30–48k | $14,758 |
| $48–75k | $16,941 |
| $75–110k | $20,005 |
| $110k+ | $24,513 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 459 of these 654 students, totalling $2,890,910 — an average of $6,298 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Stanly County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Probation or Equivalent or a More Severe Status: Warning (Additional oversight is required to ensure a resolution of compliance issues); School has an accreditation issue
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)