University of
North Dakota
Public Research University in Grand Forks, ND. Six-year graduation rate 61%. Median 10-year earnings $63,552.
Ten-year median earnings of $63,552 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. 61% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Median debt at graduation is $22,057, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.35 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
University of North Dakota accepts 77% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. The applicant pool runs to 8,261, typical for a school of this reach. About 35% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range.
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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of North Dakota →Academics
Completion is middling: 61% finish inside six years. Retention is strong at 84%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. 25% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. Retention drops to 33% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 9,296 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $18,076 annually once grants are applied. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($13,126 versus $20,730), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid reaches 63% of students at an average of $6,942. Federal borrowing reaches 45% 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 · 1,715 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 | $13,126 |
| $30–48k | $12,251 |
| $48–75k | $15,206 |
| $75–110k | $18,981 |
| $110k+ | $20,730 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 4,196 of these 9,296 students, totalling $27,977,793 — an average of $6,668 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Grand Forks 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)