University of Mississippi
Public Research University in University, MS. Six-year graduation rate 72%. Median 10-year earnings $50,994.
Ten years after entry, the median University of Mississippi student earns $50,994 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Completion is a strength: 72% of students finish within six years. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $20,000, 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
With an acceptance rate of 97%, University of Mississippi takes nearly everyone who applies. With 33,363 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. A 19% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class. The score bands below rest on the 23% 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 | 510–610 | 1,359 (23%) |
| SAT Math | 490–590 | |
| ACT Composite | 21–29 | 3,601 (60%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Mississippi →Academics
A 72% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. First-year retention of 87% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. Retention drops to 53% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. The student-faculty ratio is 18:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 18,995 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $15,045 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $8,945 while those at $110k+ pay $21,313. 72% of students receive grant aid, averaging $12,876 — common but not automatic. Federal borrowing reaches 37% 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 · 5,186 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 | $8,945 |
| $30–48k | $9,217 |
| $48–75k | $14,794 |
| $75–110k | $18,573 |
| $110k+ | $21,313 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 7,097 of these 18,995 students, totalling $38,369,952 — an average of $5,407 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Lafayette 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)