Tarleton State University
Public Research University in Stephenville, TX. Six-year graduation rate 48%. Median 10-year earnings $53,040.
Ten years after entry, the median Tarleton State University student earns $53,040 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. 48% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $19,606, neither a bargain nor a burden. On economic mobility, 2.1% of students travel from the bottom income quintile to the top.
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
Tarleton State University admits 90% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. 13,705 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. Yield sits at 24% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. The score bands below rest on the 47% 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 | 500–590 | 1,390 (47%) |
| SAT Math | 480–570 | |
| ACT Composite | 19–24 | 422 (14%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Tarleton State University →Academics
48% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Retention of 70% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. A 29% 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 student-faculty ratio is 20:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 12,263 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $16,159 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $15,574 while those at $110k+ pay $24,076. Grant aid reaches 76% of students at an average of $8,224. Federal borrowing reaches 45% 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 · 2,655 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 | $15,574 |
| $30–48k | $16,980 |
| $48–75k | $20,396 |
| $75–110k | $23,466 |
| $110k+ | $24,076 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 5,481 of these 12,263 students, totalling $49,153,615 — an average of $8,968 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Erath 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)