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Private College

William Penn University

Private College in Oskaloosa, IA. Six-year graduation rate 33%. Median 10-year earnings $48,936.

Verdict Mixed outcomes
William Penn University · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$48,936
Median debt at grad
$22,415
Mobility score
1.6
% bottom→top quintile
Graduation rate
32.6%
Federal loan default
0%

Students who entered William Penn University land at a median of $48,936 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. Only 33% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Graduates carry a median of $22,415 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.

Green Flags
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags
  • ! Graduation rate 33% — below national average

Admissions

Acceptance rate
52%
Applicants
1,305
Yield rate
42.0%

Selectivity is real here: only 52% of applicants are offered a place. Only 1,305 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. 42% of admitted students actually enroll, which is a high yield by national standards. The score bands below rest on the 21% 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 450–570 61 (21%)
SAT Math 430–540
ACT Composite 16–22 91 (32%)

IPEDS Admissions · 2024

Apply at William Penn University →

Academics

Full-time retention
58%
Transfer-out rate
0%
Student:faculty
15:1

Completion is the problem here: 33% graduate within six years. 58% first-year retention is low enough to be the defining risk of enrolling here. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. A 15:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. This is a private nonprofit four-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$22,740
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
98%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
90%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,409 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Students pay an average of $22,740 annually once grants are applied. Income makes less difference than usual: $20,608 at $0–30k, $25,916 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 98% of students receive it, averaging $19,811. Most students borrow — 90% take federal loans to cover the gap.

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.

% receiving grants
100%
Average grant
$20,194

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 294 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 $20,608
$30–48k $19,378
$48–75k $20,560
$75–110k $24,245
$110k+ $25,916

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 1,264 of these 1,409 students, totalling $8,730,585 — an average of $6,907 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Mahaska County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$717/mo
1 bedroom
$722/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$947/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
50
Yellow Ribbon
Yes
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare William Penn University with peer institutions

How we evaluate William Penn University

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →