Salem University
For-profit College in Salem, WV. Six-year graduation rate 23%. Median 10-year earnings $34,642.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $34,642, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. The six-year graduation rate is 23% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Graduates carry a median of $24,694 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
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.71 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Graduation rate 23% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 23% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Retention is weak: only 55% of full-time first-years return, so roughly two in five leave after one 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 56% transferring out, this functions substantially as a stepping stone. Retention drops to 15% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 764 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $10,231 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($9,886 versus $14,716), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. 88% of students get grant aid averaging $6,567, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Borrowing is widespread: 72% 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 · 88 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 | $9,886 |
| $30–48k | $10,753 |
| $48–75k | $11,154 |
| $75–110k | $14,107 |
| $110k+ | $14,716 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 548 of these 764 students, totalling $3,204,878 — an average of $5,848 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Harrison 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)