Valdosta State University
Public College in Valdosta, GA. Six-year graduation rate 43%. Median 10-year earnings $49,361.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $49,361 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 43%, meaning about three in five students who start do not finish. Graduates carry a median of $24,779 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
Valdosta State University accepts 72% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. 6,253 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. 26% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. The score bands below rest on the 31% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.
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 | 480–570 | 354 (31%) |
| SAT Math | 440–530 | |
| ACT Composite | 16–22 | 155 (13%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Valdosta State University →Academics
Completion is middling: 43% finish inside six years. 72% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. 37% of students transfer out, which reframes what the graduation rate above is measuring. The part-time picture is harder: 53% return, against 72% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 6,886 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $11,144 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Net price varies modestly by income — $9,378 at $0–30k against $15,905 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 81% of students at an average of $8,800. 46% 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 · 1,091 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 | $9,378 |
| $30–48k | $9,541 |
| $48–75k | $11,877 |
| $75–110k | $14,906 |
| $110k+ | $15,905 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 3,191 of these 6,886 students, totalling $20,948,799 — an average of $6,565 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Lowndes 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)