Rockford University
Private College in Rockford, IL. Six-year graduation rate 47%. Median 10-year earnings $54,794.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $54,794 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. 47% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Graduates carry a median of $22,274 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: 93% of applicants are accepted. 1,721 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. Only 13% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. The score bands below rest on the 30% 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 | 450–535 | 64 (30%) |
| SAT Math | 400–535 | |
| ACT Composite | 17–23 | 11 (5%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Rockford University →Academics
Completion is middling: 47% finish inside six years. 65% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. Transfer-out runs to 19% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. A 10:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 958 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $23,642 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Income makes less difference than usual: $20,877 at $0–30k, $27,097 at $110k+. 87% of students get grant aid averaging $24,997, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Most students borrow — 58% take federal loans to cover the gap.
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 · 190 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 | $20,877 |
| $30–48k | $20,841 |
| $48–75k | $22,987 |
| $75–110k | $21,229 |
| $110k+ | $27,097 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 553 of these 958 students, totalling $3,820,839 — an average of $6,909 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Winnebago 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)