Rivier University
Private College in Nashua, NH. Six-year graduation rate 52%. Median 10-year earnings $52,248.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $52,248 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Six-year completion sits at 52%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $26,956, 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
Admissions
83% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. The applicant pool runs to 1,769, typical for a school of this reach. A 15% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class. The score bands below rest on the 3% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.
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 | 545–590 | 7 (3%) |
| SAT Math | 510–585 | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Rivier University →Academics
Completion is middling: 52% finish inside six years. First-year retention is 76% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. The part-time picture is harder: 42% return, against 76% full-time. 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 1,311 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price averages $28,584 annually, so cost is the first thing to weigh here. The income table below is the number that matters — $23,321 at $0–30k versus $31,359 at $110k+. Most students get help: 87% receive grants worth $19,754 on average. 71% 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 · 280 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 | $23,321 |
| $30–48k | $23,978 |
| $48–75k | $25,106 |
| $75–110k | $27,352 |
| $110k+ | $31,359 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 931 of these 1,311 students, totalling $6,335,289 — an average of $6,805 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Hillsborough 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)