Sterling College
Private College in Sterling, KS. Six-year graduation rate 41%. Median 10-year earnings $45,846.
Ten years after entry, the median Sterling College student earns $45,846 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. 41% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $24,625, 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 0.8 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
At 48%, the acceptance rate makes Sterling College a school worth applying to with alternatives in hand. With 820 applicants, admissions statistics here move a lot on small changes. About 30% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range.
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 | — | 1 (1%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Sterling College →Academics
Completion is middling: 41% finish inside six years. Just 50% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. A 8:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. This is a small school — 680 undergraduates — so cohorts are tight and the program list is necessarily short.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 574 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $23,531 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Income makes less difference than usual: $19,068 at $0–30k, $26,602 at $110k+. 90% of students get grant aid averaging $21,563, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Borrowing is widespread: 58% 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 · 141 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 | $19,068 |
| $30–48k | $19,236 |
| $48–75k | $21,975 |
| $75–110k | $23,525 |
| $110k+ | $26,602 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 332 of these 574 students, totalling $2,238,178 — an average of $6,742 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Rice 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)