University of
Southern Maine
Public College in Portland, ME. Six-year graduation rate 40%. Median 10-year earnings $49,958.
Ten years after entry, the median University of Southern Maine student earns $49,958 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 40%, meaning about three in five students who start do not finish. Median debt at graduation is $19,060, 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.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
University of Southern Maine accepts 79% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. 5,822 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. Yield is low at 15%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. 10% 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 | 500–650 | 74 (10%) |
| SAT Math | 490–600 | |
| ACT Composite | 24–28 | 11 (2%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Southern Maine →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 40%, meaning about three in five students who enroll leave without finishing. First-year retention is 74% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. 27% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. Retention drops to 61% 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 4,245 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $14,028 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. The income table below is the number that matters — $9,999 at $0–30k versus $19,180 at $110k+. 78% of students receive grant aid, averaging $9,813 — common but not automatic. About 45% 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 · 687 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 | $9,999 |
| $30–48k | $10,847 |
| $48–75k | $12,550 |
| $75–110k | $16,750 |
| $110k+ | $19,180 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,915 of these 4,245 students, totalling $12,306,860 — an average of $6,427 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Cumberland 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)