Southern Oregon University
Public College in Ashland, OR. Six-year graduation rate 43%. Median 10-year earnings $49,175.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $49,175 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. 43% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Graduates carry a median of $20,332 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
With an acceptance rate of 89%, Southern Oregon University takes nearly everyone who applies. 2,320 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. 29% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction.
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 Southern Oregon University →Academics
Completion is middling: 43% finish inside six years. Retention of 68% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. Retention drops to 42% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. The 23:1 student-faculty ratio is high, so large classes and limited faculty contact should be the expectation.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,728 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $17,959 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. The income table below is the number that matters — $11,830 at $0–30k versus $24,181 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 75% of students at an average of $8,927. Federal borrowing reaches 44% 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 · 595 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 | $11,830 |
| $30–48k | $12,466 |
| $48–75k | $15,813 |
| $75–110k | $22,415 |
| $110k+ | $24,181 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,188 of these 2,728 students, totalling $11,272,622 — an average of $9,489 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Jackson 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)