University of
Houston-Clear Lake
Public College in Houston, TX. Six-year graduation rate 52%. Median 10-year earnings $59,004.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $59,004 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 52%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $17,831, 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 0.30 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Admission is not the constraint here: 91% of applicants are accepted. 2,352 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. 22% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. Score ranges below describe the middle half of score submitters among enrolled first-years; students who applied test-optional are not represented in them.
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 | 490–580 | 325 (69%) |
| SAT Math | 480–570 | |
| ACT Composite | 20–25 | 27 (6%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Houston-Clear Lake →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 52%, meaning about one in two students who enroll leave without finishing. First-year retention is 74% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. Transfer-out runs to 24% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. The 15:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 6,065 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $14,059 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $7,330 at the $0–30k band to $21,898 at $110k+. 62% of students receive grant aid, averaging $12,473 — common but not automatic. 28% 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 · 356 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 | $7,330 |
| $30–48k | $12,470 |
| $48–75k | $19,458 |
| $75–110k | $21,296 |
| $110k+ | $21,898 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,709 of these 6,065 students, totalling $11,981,695 — an average of $7,011 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Harris 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)