Washington State University
Public Research University in Pullman, WA. Six-year graduation rate 61%. Median 10-year earnings $68,905.
Students who entered Washington State University reach a median of $68,905 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. The six-year graduation rate is 61%, meaning about two in five students who start do not finish. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $19,500, 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
Admission is not the constraint here: 87% of applicants are accepted. The applicant pool is large — 25,462 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Only 20% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere.
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 | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Washington State University →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 61%, meaning about two in five students who enroll leave without finishing. Retention of 78% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. The part-time picture is harder: 40% return, against 78% full-time. At 15:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 21,574 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $18,171 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $7,074 while those at $110k+ pay $24,726. About 69% get grants averaging $12,107, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing reaches 31% 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 · 4,132 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 | $7,074 |
| $30–48k | $8,971 |
| $48–75k | $11,519 |
| $75–110k | $18,426 |
| $110k+ | $24,726 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 6,644 of these 21,574 students, totalling $43,131,615 — an average of $6,492 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Whitman 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)