University of Utah
Public Research University in Salt Lake City, UT. Six-year graduation rate 65%. Median 10-year earnings $67,170.
A decade after enrolling, the median University of Utah student earns $67,170 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. The six-year graduation rate of 65% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $19,000, 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.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.28 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
With an acceptance rate of 86%, University of Utah takes nearly everyone who applies. The applicant pool is large — 26,822 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Yield sits at 26% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 10% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, and test-optional applicants 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 | 600–690 | 574 (10%) |
| SAT Math | 590–690 | |
| ACT Composite | 22–29 | 2,252 (38%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Utah →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 65% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. Retention is strong at 86%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. The part-time picture is harder: 64% return, against 86% full-time. A 19:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 26,041 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $16,583 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. The income table below is the number that matters — $13,123 at $0–30k versus $21,533 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 61% of students at an average of $11,021. 21% 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.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 5,371 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 | $13,123 |
| $30–48k | $13,424 |
| $48–75k | $14,246 |
| $75–110k | $17,663 |
| $110k+ | $21,533 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 5,499 of these 26,041 students, totalling $35,636,207 — an average of $6,480 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Salt Lake 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)