Towson University
Public College in Towson, MD. Six-year graduation rate 69%. Median 10-year earnings $64,390.
A decade after enrolling, the median Towson University student earns $64,390 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. 70% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $18,718, 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.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.29 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
82% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. 19,777 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. Yield is low at 18%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. 17% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
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 | 490–635 | 492 (17%) |
| SAT Math | 460–600 | |
| ACT Composite | 19–27 | 44 (1%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Towson University →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 70% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. 83% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. 19% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. The part-time picture is harder: 56% return, against 83% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 16,400 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $16,653 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. The income table below is the number that matters — $6,962 at $0–30k versus $26,396 at $110k+. About 63% get grants averaging $11,447, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing reaches 42% 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 · 2,996 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 | $6,962 |
| $30–48k | $12,590 |
| $48–75k | $16,784 |
| $75–110k | $22,720 |
| $110k+ | $26,396 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 6,876 of these 16,400 students, totalling $43,356,183 — an average of $6,305 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Baltimore 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)