College · Public · Spearfish, SD · Town
Black Hills State University
Spearfish, SD
Admit rate96%
6-yr median pay$39k
Net price / yr$16k
Undergrad size1,928
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $16k/yr for a shot at a $39k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 96% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average SAT 1087 · ACT 21.
If you get in
1,928 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
Town setting — self-contained, social life mostly on campus.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $21k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $16k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$85k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$64k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$21k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.6x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $8.8k
- Tuition · out-of-state
- $11.9k
- Room & board
- $12.2k
- Books & supplies
- $1,092
How students pay for it.
Pell grants20%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans28%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$26k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $11k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention72%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr43%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$39k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$47k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out0%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Town
- Control
- Public
- Undergrad size
- 1,928
- Location
- Spearfish, SD
- Region
- Plains (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
- Carnegie class
- Master's Colleges & Universities: Smaller Programs
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · primarily residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · medium full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
- Also known as
- BHSU
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White67%
- Unknown19%
- Hispanic5%
- American Indian / Alaska Native3%
- Two or more races2%
- Black2%
- International2%
- Asian1%
First-gen students28%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time19%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Median family income$51k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 35
What you can study.