Stephen F
Austin State University
Public College in Nacogdoches, TX. Six-year graduation rate 53%. Median 10-year earnings $49,634.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $49,634 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. 53% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $23,409, 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
With an acceptance rate of 94%, Stephen F Austin State University takes nearly everyone who applies. With 13,596 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. Only 17% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 43% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, and test-optional applicants are not represented in them.
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 | 500–600 | 941 (43%) |
| SAT Math | 470–570 | |
| ACT Composite | 18–24 | 260 (12%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Stephen F Austin State University →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 53%, meaning about one in two students who enroll leave without finishing. 72% 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. 28% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. Retention drops to 57% 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 8,730 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $14,959 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $10,318 at the $0–30k band to $22,959 at $110k+. About 73% get grants averaging $9,348, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 45% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 2,042 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 | $10,318 |
| $30–48k | $11,023 |
| $48–75k | $13,100 |
| $75–110k | $17,609 |
| $110k+ | $22,959 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 3,951 of these 8,730 students, totalling $25,804,526 — an average of $6,531 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Nacogdoches 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)