Wayne State College
Public College in Wayne, NE. Six-year graduation rate 52%. Median 10-year earnings $47,075.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $47,075 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 52%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Graduates carry a median of $19,000 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
- ! Mobility score 1.0 — limited economic uplift documented
Academics
52% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. First-year retention is 72% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. The 31% transfer-out rate is high enough that a large share of this school's students are really passing through. At 19:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,041 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $16,060 annually once grants are applied. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($12,844 versus $18,905), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. About 83% get grants averaging $7,891, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 42% 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 · 728 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 | $12,844 |
| $30–48k | $11,698 |
| $48–75k | $13,851 |
| $75–110k | $16,841 |
| $110k+ | $18,905 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,273 of these 3,041 students, totalling $7,350,568 — an average of $5,774 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Wayne 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)