Purdue University Global
Public College in West Lafayette, IN. Six-year graduation rate 50%. Median 10-year earnings $36,596.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $36,596, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Six-year completion sits at 50%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Graduates carry a median of $26,078 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
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.71 — elevated (above 0.60)
Academics
50% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Retention is weak: only 57% of full-time first-years return, so roughly two in five leave after one year. The 33% transfer-out rate is high enough that a large share of this school's students are really passing through. Retention drops to 35% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. At 25:1, instructor access is thin — worth probing on a campus visit.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 31,504 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $7,770 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Income makes less difference than usual: $9,806 at $0–30k, $-1,196 at $75–110k. 70% of students receive grant aid, averaging $5,463 — common but not automatic. Federal borrowing reaches 46% of students.
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 · 14 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 | $9,806 |
| $30–48k | $1,665 |
| $48–75k | $-219 |
| $75–110k | $-1,196 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 14,470 of these 31,504 students, totalling $116,252,274 — an average of $8,034 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Tippecanoe County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026