Central State University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Central State University

Central State University operates as a public institution located in Wilberforce, Ohio (rural: fringe), with a total reported enrollment of 2,620 students of which 4,205 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. Central State University is categorized as “22” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 98.6%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey and an ACT midpoint of 16. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $13,096, with published in-state tuition of $8,058 and a Pell grant recipient share of 52.7%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $30,739, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 24.1%, and the first-year retention rate is 55.9%. Graduates earn a median of $33,267 ten years after enrolling, compared with $27,173 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 187200.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 35.3% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.