University of Memphis
Public Research University in Memphis, TN. Six-year graduation rate 51%. Median 10-year earnings $48,458.
Students who entered University of Memphis land at a median of $48,458 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. Six-year completion sits at 51%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $23,300, 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
An acceptance rate of 72% puts University of Memphis on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. With 15,084 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. Yield is low at 18%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. The score bands below rest on the 4% 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 | 480–600 | 80 (4%) |
| SAT Math | 435–580 | |
| ACT Composite | 18–24 | 1,768 (90%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Memphis →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 51%, meaning about one in two students who enroll leave without finishing. 77% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. 14% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 50% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 13,645 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $12,756 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $10,607 at the $0–30k band to $18,691 at $110k+. 79% of students receive grant aid, averaging $10,360 — common but not automatic. About 47% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 2,535 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 | $10,607 |
| $30–48k | $10,968 |
| $48–75k | $13,923 |
| $75–110k | $17,384 |
| $110k+ | $18,691 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 6,355 of these 13,645 students, totalling $42,610,673 — an average of $6,705 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Shelby 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)