University of
Central Arkansas
Public College in Conway, AR. Six-year graduation rate 54%. Median 10-year earnings $45,938.
Students who entered University of Central Arkansas land at a median of $45,938 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. 54% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Median debt at graduation is $20,346, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree. It also moves people — 2.2% 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
With an acceptance rate of 89%, University of Central Arkansas takes nearly everyone who applies. 7,039 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. About 35% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. 2% 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 | 480–590 | 52 (2%) |
| SAT Math | 430–580 | |
| ACT Composite | 19–25 | 2,066 (95%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Central Arkansas →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 54%, meaning about one in two students who enroll leave without finishing. 73% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. A 25% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. A 15:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 7,426 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $16,546 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price varies modestly by income — $14,656 at $0–30k against $20,157 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. About 84% get grants averaging $9,928, 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 · 1,731 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 | $14,656 |
| $30–48k | $13,988 |
| $48–75k | $16,203 |
| $75–110k | $20,318 |
| $110k+ | $20,157 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 3,145 of these 7,426 students, totalling $23,963,900 — an average of $7,620 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Faulkner 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)