The University
of Texas at El Paso
Public Research University in El Paso, TX. Six-year graduation rate 50%. Median 10-year earnings $50,923.
Ten years after entry, the median The University of Texas at El Paso student earns $50,923 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. 50% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $18,000, neither a bargain nor a burden. On economic mobility, 6.8% 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.
- ✓ Mobility score 6.8 — top quartile among US colleges
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
The University of Texas at El Paso admits 100% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. With 11,996 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. About 34% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. Score ranges below describe the middle half of score submitters among enrolled first-years; students who applied test-optional 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 | 450–550 | 2,188 (54%) |
| SAT Math | 410–530 | |
| ACT Composite | 17–22 | 91 (2%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at The University of Texas at El Paso →Academics
Completion is middling: 50% finish inside six years. Retention of 79% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. Transfer-out runs to 15% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 66% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 20,547 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $9,305 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The income table below is the number that matters — $7,863 at $0–30k versus $18,282 at $110k+. 73% of students receive grant aid, averaging $8,829 — common but not automatic. 27% 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 · 3,125 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 | $7,863 |
| $30–48k | $8,136 |
| $48–75k | $10,120 |
| $75–110k | $14,093 |
| $110k+ | $18,282 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 5,512 of these 20,547 students, totalling $36,496,862 — an average of $6,621 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (El Paso 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)