Virginia Commonwealth University
Public Research University in Richmond, VA. Six-year graduation rate 63%. Median 10-year earnings $58,128.
Students who entered Virginia Commonwealth University land at a median of $58,128 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. 63% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Median debt at graduation is $21,500, 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
Admission is not the constraint here: 93% of applicants are accepted. 20,954 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. 22% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. The score bands below rest on the 34% 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 | 520–650 | 1,442 (34%) |
| SAT Math | 490–620 | |
| ACT Composite | 22–30 | 127 (3%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Virginia Commonwealth University →Academics
63% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Retention is strong at 85%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. A 21% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. Retention drops to 50% 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 20,797 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $26,836 annually once grants are applied. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $17,512 while those at $110k+ pay $32,739. 71% of students receive grant aid, averaging $13,672 — common but not automatic. Federal borrowing reaches 40% 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 · 4,487 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 | $17,512 |
| $30–48k | $17,777 |
| $48–75k | $20,925 |
| $75–110k | $24,691 |
| $110k+ | $32,739 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 8,222 of these 20,797 students, totalling $53,893,817 — an average of $6,555 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Richmond City) — 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)