Southern Arkansas
University Main Campus
Public College in Magnolia, AR. Six-year graduation rate 49%. Median 10-year earnings $42,386.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $42,386 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. 49% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $18,750, neither a bargain nor a burden. It also moves people — 2.9% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution 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
Southern Arkansas University Main Campus accepts 75% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. The applicant pool runs to 2,708, typical for a school of this reach. Yield sits at 35% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. The score bands below rest on the 7% 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 | 450–565 | 51 (7%) |
| SAT Math | 425–540 | |
| ACT Composite | 17–24 | 708 (100%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Southern Arkansas University Main Campus →Academics
49% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Retention of 66% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. 28% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. The part-time picture is harder: 21% return, against 66% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,865 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $13,442 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Net price varies modestly by income — $13,187 at $0–30k against $19,244 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. About 83% get grants averaging $10,496, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 67% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
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 · 783 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 | $13,187 |
| $30–48k | $12,827 |
| $48–75k | $13,790 |
| $75–110k | $15,654 |
| $110k+ | $19,244 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,924 of these 2,865 students, totalling $9,139,792 — an average of $4,750 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Columbia 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)