Valley City
State University
Public College in Valley City, ND. Six-year graduation rate 53%. Median 10-year earnings $52,725.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $52,725 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. 53% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Median debt at graduation is $20,369, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree. On economic mobility, 2.2% 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.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Admission is not the constraint here: 99% of applicants are accepted. With 324 applicants, admissions statistics here move a lot on small changes. 54% of admitted students actually enroll, which is a high yield by national standards. The score bands below rest on the 5% 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 | 420–530 | 9 (5%) |
| SAT Math | 410–540 | |
| ACT Composite | 17–24 | 109 (63%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Valley City State University →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 53%, meaning about one in two students who enroll leave without finishing. Retention of 71% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. Transfer-out runs to 21% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. The part-time picture is harder: 47% return, against 71% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 918 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $12,442 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price varies modestly by income — $7,879 at $0–30k against $14,570 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 83% of students receive grant aid, averaging $7,299 — common but not automatic. About 52% 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 · 175 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 | $7,879 |
| $30–48k | $7,787 |
| $48–75k | $10,841 |
| $75–110k | $12,538 |
| $110k+ | $14,570 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 478 of these 918 students, totalling $2,994,791 — an average of $6,265 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Barnes 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)