University of South Dakota

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

University of South Dakota operates as a public institution located in Vermillion, South Dakota (town: distant), with a total reported enrollment of 5,439 students of which 9,110 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. University of South Dakota 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 98.8%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,125 and an ACT midpoint of 22. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $19,858, with published in-state tuition of $9,432 and a Pell grant recipient share of 18.7%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $23,592, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 60.6%, and the first-year retention rate is 79.3%. Graduates earn a median of $51,926 ten years after enrolling, compared with $46,290 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 371500.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 70.7% 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.