University of
Wisconsin-River Falls
Public College in River Falls, WI. Six-year graduation rate 57%. Median 10-year earnings $54,458.
Students who entered University of Wisconsin-River Falls land at a median of $54,458 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. Six-year completion sits at 57%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Graduates carry a median of $20,500 in debt — in line with the national norm.
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
82% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. The applicant pool runs to 5,519, typical for a school of this reach. About 25% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 19% of enrolled first-years submitted an ACT 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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | 19–26 | 210 (19%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Wisconsin-River Falls →Academics
Completion is middling: 57% finish inside six years. Retention of 76% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. Retention drops to 64% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. 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 4,152 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $14,769 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. The income table below is the number that matters — $8,472 at $0–30k versus $18,234 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 60% of students at an average of $5,527. Federal borrowing reaches 48% 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 · 1,049 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 | $8,472 |
| $30–48k | $9,014 |
| $48–75k | $10,796 |
| $75–110k | $16,578 |
| $110k+ | $18,234 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,005 of these 4,152 students, totalling $11,826,680 — an average of $5,899 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Pierce 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)