Williams Baptist University
Private College in Walnut Ridge, AR. Six-year graduation rate 26%. Median 10-year earnings $38,484.
Ten-year median earnings of $38,484 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Completion is the weak point: 26% graduate within six years. Graduates carry a median of $21,820 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
- ! Graduation rate 26% — below national average
Admissions
Williams Baptist University accepts 83% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. Only 609 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. About 29% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. The score bands below cover the middle 50% of the enrolled students who submitted a score — not the whole class, 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 | — | 1 (1%) |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | 16–21 | 140 (95%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Williams Baptist University →Academics
Only 26% finish within six years, so roughly three in four students leave without the credential. First-year retention is 70% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. 43% of students transfer out, which reframes what the graduation rate above is measuring. The 14:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 489 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $12,692 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $10,733 while those at $110k+ pay $24,028. Most students get help: 100% receive grants worth $17,433 on average. About 47% 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 · 134 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 | $10,733 |
| $30–48k | $19,044 |
| $48–75k | $15,655 |
| $75–110k | $15,195 |
| $110k+ | $24,028 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 229 of these 489 students, totalling $1,778,739 — an average of $7,767 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Lawrence 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)