University of
South Alabama
Public Research University in Mobile, AL. Six-year graduation rate 53%. Median 10-year earnings $49,379.
Ten years after entry, the median University of South Alabama student earns $49,379 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 53%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $24,929, 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 71% puts University of South Alabama on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. With 12,982 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. Yield sits at 21% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. 6% 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 | 500–610 | 109 (6%) |
| SAT Math | 470–580 | |
| ACT Composite | 20–26 | 1,623 (84%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of South Alabama →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 53%, meaning about one in two students who enroll leave without finishing. 76% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. A 26% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. Retention drops to 39% 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 8,540 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $16,074 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. The income table below is the number that matters — $12,657 at $0–30k versus $25,322 at $110k+. About 78% get grants averaging $9,331, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 49% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 1,898 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 | $12,657 |
| $30–48k | $13,265 |
| $48–75k | $16,277 |
| $75–110k | $23,252 |
| $110k+ | $25,322 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 4,218 of these 8,540 students, totalling $45,768,366 — an average of $10,851 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Mobile 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)