University of Massachusetts-Lowell
Public Research University in Lowell, MA. Six-year graduation rate 65%. Median 10-year earnings $64,874.
Students who entered University of Massachusetts-Lowell reach a median of $64,874 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. 65% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $23,704, 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
Admissions
83% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. 13,781 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. Only 18% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. The score bands below rest on the 27% 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 | 590–680 | 553 (27%) |
| SAT Math | 590–690 | |
| ACT Composite | 25–32 | 47 (2%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Massachusetts-Lowell →Academics
Completion is middling: 65% finish inside six years. 84% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. The part-time picture is harder: 49% return, against 84% full-time. At 17:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 11,632 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $16,530 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $9,943 while those at $110k+ pay $26,139. Grant aid reaches 67% of students at an average of $13,521. Borrowing is widespread: 55% take federal loans.
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 · 2,033 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 | $9,943 |
| $30–48k | $10,199 |
| $48–75k | $12,141 |
| $75–110k | $16,460 |
| $110k+ | $26,139 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 6,430 of these 11,632 students, totalling $39,137,077 — an average of $6,087 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Middlesex 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)