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Public Research University

University of
South Florida

Public Research University in Tampa, FL. Six-year graduation rate 77%. Median 10-year earnings $57,743.

Verdict Solid outcomes
University of South Florida · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$57,743
Median debt at grad
$17,988
Mobility score
2.7
% bottom→top quintile
Graduation rate
76.8%
Federal loan default
0%

Ten years after entry, the median University of South Florida student earns $57,743 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. 77% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $17,988, neither a bargain nor a burden. On economic mobility, 2.7% of students travel from the bottom income quintile to the top.

Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.

Green Flags
  • Debt-to-income ratio 0.31 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
  • Graduation rate 77% — well above the national average
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags

Admissions

Acceptance rate
43%
Applicants
68,576
Yield rate
23.3%

Selectivity is real here: only 43% of applicants are offered a place. 68,576 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. 23% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. Score ranges below describe the middle half of score submitters among enrolled first-years; students who applied test-optional are not represented in them.

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 580–660 5,369 (78%)
SAT Math 550–660
ACT Composite 24–29 1,531 (22%)

IPEDS Admissions · 2024

Apply at University of South Florida →

Academics

Full-time retention
91%
Transfer-out rate
10%
Student:faculty
22:1

Six-year completion runs to 77% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. First-year retention of 91% 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. The part-time picture is harder: 70% return, against 91% full-time. A 22:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$11,579
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
69%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
24%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 36,299 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Average net price is $11,579 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $4,122 while those at $110k+ pay $18,497. 69% of students receive grant aid, averaging $9,311 — common but not automatic. 24% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.

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.

% receiving grants
83%
Average grant
$10,652

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 5,676 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 $4,122
$30–48k $5,444
$48–75k $9,326
$75–110k $15,224
$110k+ $18,497

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 8,892 of these 36,299 students, totalling $70,566,543 — an average of $7,936 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Hillsborough County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$1,593/mo
1 bedroom
$1,696/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$1,977/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
2,392
Yellow Ribbon
Yes
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare University of South Florida with peer institutions

How we evaluate University of South Florida

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →