Tougaloo College
Private College in Tougaloo, MS. Six-year graduation rate 33%. Median 10-year earnings $34,724.
Students who entered Tougaloo College reach a median of $34,724 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. Only 33% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Debt is the pressure point: a median of $30,046 at graduation.
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
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.87 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Graduation rate 33% — below national average
Admissions
Tougaloo College admits 60% of applicants and is genuinely selective — roughly two in five applicants are turned away. 2,334 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. Yield is low at 10%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling.
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
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 33% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Retention is strong at 83%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. 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 26% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. At 9:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 681 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $14,328 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price varies modestly by income — $17,294 at $0–30k against $16,266 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. About 80% get grants averaging $6,803, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Most students borrow — 63% take federal loans to cover the gap.
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 · 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 | $17,294 |
| $30–48k | $17,523 |
| $48–75k | $17,744 |
| $75–110k | $14,396 |
| $110k+ | $16,266 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 428 of these 681 students, totalling $712,252 — an average of $1,664 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Madison 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)