College · Private nonprofit · Bluffton, OH · Rural
Bluffton University
Bluffton, OH
Religious affiliation
Admit rate67%
6-yr median pay$42k
Net price / yr$20k
Undergrad size582
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $20k/yr for a shot at a $42k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 67% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average SAT 976.
If you get in
582 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
Rural — true campus bubble, nature on the doorstep, plan for a car.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $52k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $20k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$207k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$80k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$128k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.9x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $37.4k
- Room & board
- $12.2k
- Books & supplies
- $1,600
How students pay for it.
Pell grants45%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans77%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$27k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $8k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention63%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr53%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$42k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$50k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out33%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Rural
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 582
- Location
- Bluffton, OH
- Region
- Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields
- Size & setting
- Four-year · very small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, selective, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
Identity
Religious affiliation
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White63%
- Black19%
- Unknown9%
- Hispanic3%
- Two or more races3%
- International1%
- Asian1%
First-gen students33%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time1%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$60k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 45
What you can study.