Radford University
Public College in Radford, VA. Six-year graduation rate 49%. Median 10-year earnings $53,739.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $53,739 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. 49% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Median debt at graduation is $24,000, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
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
- ! Mobility score 1.0 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
Radford University admits 90% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. With 10,960 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. Only 14% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. 11% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT 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 | 490–600 | 149 (11%) |
| SAT Math | 450–560 | |
| ACT Composite | 19–26 | 24 (2%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Radford University →Academics
Completion is middling: 49% finish inside six years. 76% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. With 33% transferring out, this functions substantially as a stepping stone. The 14:1 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 5,609 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $16,749 annually once grants are applied. The income table below is the number that matters — $8,965 at $0–30k versus $23,533 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 77% of students at an average of $12,755. 52% 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 · 1,101 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 | $8,965 |
| $30–48k | $8,724 |
| $48–75k | $12,069 |
| $75–110k | $17,092 |
| $110k+ | $23,533 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,893 of these 5,609 students, totalling $18,297,321 — an average of $6,325 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Radford City) — 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)