University of Arkansas
Public Research University in Fayetteville, AR. Six-year graduation rate 71%. Median 10-year earnings $58,191.
Students who entered University of Arkansas land at a median of $58,191 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. 71% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Graduates carry a median of $21,500 in debt — in line with the national norm. It also moves people — 2.3% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution 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
University of Arkansas accepts 74% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. The applicant pool is large — 30,555 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. 29% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. 31% 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 | 520–620 | 2,058 (31%) |
| SAT Math | 510–600 | |
| ACT Composite | 21–28 | 4,818 (73%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Arkansas →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 71% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. First-year retention of 86% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. The part-time picture is harder: 63% return, against 86% full-time. 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 27,309 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $18,408 annually once grants are applied. The income table below is the number that matters — $14,319 at $0–30k versus $22,470 at $110k+. 53% of students receive grant aid, averaging $9,031 — common but not automatic. About 33% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 6,290 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 | $14,319 |
| $30–48k | $14,322 |
| $48–75k | $15,934 |
| $75–110k | $20,772 |
| $110k+ | $22,470 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 9,146 of these 27,309 students, totalling $58,850,170 — an average of $6,435 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Washington 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)