Southern Virginia University
Private College in Buena Vista, VA. Six-year graduation rate 33%. Median 10-year earnings $50,002.
Ten years after entry, the median Southern Virginia University student earns $50,002 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 34% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $24,224, 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
- ! Mobility score 0.9 — limited economic uplift documented
- ! Graduation rate 33% — below national average
Admissions
Southern Virginia University admits 96% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. Only 1,451 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. 21% 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 Virginia University →Academics
Only 34% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential. Retention of 74% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. 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. 24% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. A 14:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 967 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $24,561 annually once grants are applied. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $18,957 at the $0–30k band to $27,108 at $110k+. Most students get help: 99% receive grants worth $10,839 on average. Borrowing is widespread: 57% 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 · 296 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 | $18,957 |
| $30–48k | $19,501 |
| $48–75k | $20,630 |
| $75–110k | $23,407 |
| $110k+ | $27,108 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 553 of these 967 students, totalling $4,676,454 — an average of $8,457 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Buena Vista City) — 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)