Southern Illinois
University Edwardsville
Public College in Edwardsville, IL. Six-year graduation rate 57%. Median 10-year earnings $56,346.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $56,346 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. 57% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $20,500, neither a bargain nor a burden.
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 Illinois University Edwardsville admits 98% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. The applicant pool is large — 10,150 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Only 16% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. The score bands below rest on the 35% 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 | 490–600 | 548 (35%) |
| SAT Math | 460–590 | |
| ACT Composite | 20–27 | 181 (12%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 57%, meaning about two in five students who enroll leave without finishing. 76% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. A 23% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. The part-time picture is harder: 55% return, against 76% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 8,931 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $17,115 annually once grants are applied. The income table below is the number that matters — $8,483 at $0–30k versus $24,684 at $110k+. About 76% get grants averaging $9,969, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing reaches 39% 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 · 1,580 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 | $8,483 |
| $30–48k | $8,587 |
| $48–75k | $11,116 |
| $75–110k | $19,351 |
| $110k+ | $24,684 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 3,443 of these 8,931 students, totalling $21,558,551 — an average of $6,262 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Madison 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)