Sam Houston
State University
Public Research University in Huntsville, TX. Six-year graduation rate 55%. Median 10-year earnings $54,211.
Students who entered Sam Houston State University land at a median of $54,211 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. Six-year completion sits at 55%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Graduates carry a median of $21,983 in debt — in line with the national norm. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 2.1% of students move from the bottom income quintile to the top.
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
Sam Houston State University admits 90% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. 17,179 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. About 21% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. The score bands below cover the middle 50% of the enrolled students who submitted a score — not the whole class, 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 | 480–570 | 1,711 (52%) |
| SAT Math | 450–550 | |
| ACT Composite | 17–24 | 205 (6%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Sam Houston State University →Academics
Completion is middling: 55% finish inside six years. First-year retention is 73% — 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. Transfer-out runs to 22% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Retention drops to 61% 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 18,138 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $14,737 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $12,474 while those at $110k+ pay $24,101. Grant aid reaches 69% of students at an average of $8,724. Federal borrowing reaches 46% of students.
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 · 3,398 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 | $12,474 |
| $30–48k | $13,389 |
| $48–75k | $15,540 |
| $75–110k | $21,366 |
| $110k+ | $24,101 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 8,299 of these 18,138 students, totalling $56,174,931 — an average of $6,769 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Walker 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)