Grand Valley State University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Grand Valley State University

Grand Valley State University operates as a public institution located in Allendale, Michigan (town: fringe), with a total reported enrollment of 18,854 students of which 21,083 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. Grand Valley State University is categorized as “17” 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 83.0%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,074. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $16,317, with published in-state tuition of $15,140 and a Pell grant recipient share of 29.2%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $24,500, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 67.8%, and the first-year retention rate is 76.3%. Graduates earn a median of $56,118 ten years after enrolling, compared with $47,840 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 975600.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 68.9% 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.