College · Public · Bluefield, WV · Town
Bluefield State University
Bluefield, WV
HBCU
Admit rate97%
6-yr median pay$35k
Net price / yr$14k
Undergrad size1,042
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $14k/yr for a shot at a $35k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 97% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average SAT 989 · ACT 20.
If you get in
1,042 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 $22k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $14k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$87k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$55k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$33k
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
- $10.6k
- Tuition · out-of-state
- $18.4k
- Room & board
- $11.5k
- Books & supplies
- $1,500
How students pay for it.
Pell grants44%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans55%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$18k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $9k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention55%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr37%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$35k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$38k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out25%
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
- 1,042
- Location
- Bluefield, WV
- Region
- Southeast (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · primarily nonresidential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · medium full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White66%
- Black22%
- Hispanic5%
- Two or more races5%
First-gen students49%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time15%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Median family income$27k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 15
What you can study.