Salem State University
Public College in Salem, MA. Six-year graduation rate 50%. Median 10-year earnings $56,662.
Students who entered Salem State University land at a median of $56,662 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. The six-year graduation rate is 50%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Graduates carry a median of $25,000 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: 96% of applicants are accepted. 7,953 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. Only 11% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere.
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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Salem State University →Academics
50% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 75% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. The part-time picture is harder: 65% return, against 75% full-time. At 12:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 4,286 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $17,541 annually once grants are applied. The income table below is the number that matters — $10,516 at $0–30k versus $23,223 at $110k+. About 81% get grants averaging $10,502, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Borrowing is widespread: 56% take federal loans.
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 · 793 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 | $10,516 |
| $30–48k | $13,870 |
| $48–75k | $13,821 |
| $75–110k | $17,590 |
| $110k+ | $23,223 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,380 of these 4,286 students, totalling $14,917,560 — an average of $6,268 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Essex 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)