University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Public Research University in Lincoln, NE. Six-year graduation rate 67%. Median 10-year earnings $56,887.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $56,887 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate of 67% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $21,000, 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
University of Nebraska-Lincoln admits 87% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. With 17,841 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. Yield sits at 30% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. 7% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
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 | 560–670 | 323 (7%) |
| SAT Math | 538–660 | |
| ACT Composite | 22–28 | 3,830 (82%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Nebraska-Lincoln →Academics
67% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. 86% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. 20% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. The part-time picture is harder: 52% return, against 86% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 18,887 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $18,322 annually once grants are applied. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $12,751 at the $0–30k band to $22,346 at $110k+. 87% of students get grant aid averaging $10,570, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. About 33% 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 · 4,676 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 | $12,751 |
| $30–48k | $13,054 |
| $48–75k | $14,699 |
| $75–110k | $18,975 |
| $110k+ | $22,346 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 6,295 of these 18,887 students, totalling $36,401,615 — an average of $5,783 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Lancaster 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)