Shepherd University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Shepherd University

Shepherd University operates as a public institution located in Shepherdstown, West Virginia (rural: fringe), with a total reported enrollment of 2,344 students of which 3,158 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. Shepherd University is categorized as “20” 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 96.8%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,034 and an ACT midpoint of 23. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $11,363, with published in-state tuition of $9,056 and a Pell grant recipient share of 29.4%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $21,600, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 50.2%, and the first-year retention rate is 71.4%. Graduates earn a median of $49,358 ten years after enrolling, compared with $43,726 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 199600.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 62.2% 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.