Fitchburg State University

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

Fitchburg State University operates as a public institution located in Fitchburg, Massachusetts (suburb: midsize), with a total reported enrollment of 2,752 students of which 3,825 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. Fitchburg State University is categorized as “18” 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 86.9%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,150 and an ACT midpoint of 22. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $14,262, with published in-state tuition of $11,346 and a Pell grant recipient share of 32.8%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $24,239, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 53.9%, and the first-year retention rate is 69.5%. Graduates earn a median of $53,874 ten years after enrolling, compared with $41,999 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 189600.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 69.6% 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.