Pittsburg State University
Public College in Pittsburg, KS. Six-year graduation rate 56%. Median 10-year earnings $50,579.
Ten years after entry, the median Pittsburg State University student earns $50,579 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 56%, meaning about two in five students who start do not finish. Graduates carry a median of $18,969 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
Admissions
Admission is not the constraint here: 89% of applicants are accepted. 3,138 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. About 32% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. 3% of enrolled first-years submitted an ACT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the 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 | 17–24 | 25 (3%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Pittsburg State University →Academics
Completion is middling: 56% finish inside six years. 77% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. A 27% 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. A 14:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 4,163 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $15,111 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. The income table below is the number that matters — $11,968 at $0–30k versus $20,237 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 65% of students at an average of $10,315. 44% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 871 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 | $11,968 |
| $30–48k | $11,453 |
| $48–75k | $14,676 |
| $75–110k | $18,873 |
| $110k+ | $20,237 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,836 of these 4,163 students, totalling $10,433,175 — an average of $5,683 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Crawford 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)