South Dakota State University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for South Dakota State University

South Dakota State University operates as a public institution located in Brookings, South Dakota (town: remote), with a total reported enrollment of 9,198 students of which 12,095 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. South Dakota State University is categorized as “16” 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 98.3%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,120 and an ACT midpoint of 22. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $19,841, with published in-state tuition of $9,299 and a Pell grant recipient share of 16.8%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $23,250, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 61.0%, and the first-year retention rate is 83.8%. Graduates earn a median of $55,070 ten years after enrolling, compared with $49,564 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 546900.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 76.5% 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.