University of
Arkansas at Pine Bluff
Public College in Pine Bluff, AR. Six-year graduation rate 40%. Median 10-year earnings $35,550.
Ten-year median earnings of $35,550 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. The six-year graduation rate is 40%, meaning about three in five students who start do not finish. Graduates carry a median of $24,202 in debt — in line with the national norm. On economic mobility, 2.8% 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.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.68 — elevated (above 0.60)
Admissions
At 41%, the acceptance rate makes University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff a school worth applying to with alternatives in hand. The applicant pool runs to 6,625, typical for a school of this reach. Yield is low at 15%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. The score bands below rest on the 13% 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 | 425–570 | 54 (13%) |
| SAT Math | 420–538 | |
| ACT Composite | 14–18 | 275 (67%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff →Academics
Completion is middling: 40% finish inside six years. 64% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. Transfer-out runs to 24% — 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 27% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,900 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $12,373 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Income makes less difference than usual: $12,302 at $0–30k, $17,840 at $110k+. Most students get help: 89% receive grants worth $12,409 on average. 58% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
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 · 385 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 | $12,302 |
| $30–48k | $11,324 |
| $48–75k | $15,920 |
| $75–110k | $13,975 |
| $110k+ | $17,840 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,096 of these 1,900 students, totalling $6,763,313 — an average of $6,171 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Jefferson 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)