University of
Cincinnati-Main Campus
Public Research University in Cincinnati, OH. Six-year graduation rate 75%. Median 10-year earnings $54,810.
Ten years after entry, the median University of Cincinnati-Main Campus student earns $54,810 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Completion is a strength: 75% of students finish within six years. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $21,250, 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.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 1.0 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
With an acceptance rate of 85%, University of Cincinnati-Main Campus takes nearly everyone who applies. The applicant pool is large — 34,285 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. 23% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. The score bands below rest on the 11% 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 | 570–670 | 697 (11%) |
| SAT Math | 590–700 | |
| ACT Composite | 24–29 | 2,008 (30%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Cincinnati-Main Campus →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 75% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. Retention is strong at 85%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. Retention drops to 64% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. At 19:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution. This is a public four-year university, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 28,976 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $24,696 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $17,974 at the $0–30k band to $29,616 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 64% of students at an average of $8,278. 42% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 6,821 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 | $17,974 |
| $30–48k | $18,092 |
| $48–75k | $22,492 |
| $75–110k | $27,596 |
| $110k+ | $29,616 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 12,143 of these 28,976 students, totalling $78,002,251 — an average of $6,424 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Hamilton 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)