Salem College
Private College in Winston-Salem, NC. Six-year graduation rate 57%. Median 10-year earnings $44,640.
Students who entered Salem College land at a median of $44,640 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. 57% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Median debt at graduation is $26,649, 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 0.8 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 77% puts Salem College on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. 2,246 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. A 8% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class. 6% 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 | 553–643 | 8 (6%) |
| SAT Math | 513–600 | |
| ACT Composite | 16–22 | 10 (7%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Salem College →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 57%, meaning about two in five students who enroll leave without finishing. First-year retention is 68% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. A 9:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor. The undergraduate body is just 433, which shapes everything from class size to how often a required course is offered.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 387 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $18,668 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Income makes less difference than usual: $19,074 at $0–30k, $24,027 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 97% of students receive it, averaging $26,537. 50% 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 · 154 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 | $19,074 |
| $30–48k | $16,001 |
| $48–75k | $16,147 |
| $75–110k | $19,940 |
| $110k+ | $24,027 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 193 of these 387 students, totalling $1,178,453 — an average of $6,106 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Forsyth 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)