College · Public · Bowie, MD · Suburb
Bowie State University
Bowie, MD
HBCU
Admit rate72%
6-yr median pay$44k
Net price / yr$19k
Undergrad size5,043
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $19k/yr for a shot at a $44k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 72% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average ACT 19.
If you get in
5,043 undergrads. Small. You will know your cohort.
Where you live
Suburban — a short drive to the nearest city, greener but still connected.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $25k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $19k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$101k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$77k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$24k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.8x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $9.2k
- Tuition · out-of-state
- $19.9k
- Room & board
- $12.2k
- Books & supplies
- $2,500
How students pay for it.
Pell grants44%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans44%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$23k
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 retention69%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr38%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$44k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$55k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out30%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Suburb
- Control
- Public
- Undergrad size
- 5,043
- Location
- Bowie, MD
- Region
- Mid East (DE, DC, MD, NJ, NY, PA)
- Carnegie class
- Master's Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
- Size & setting
- Four-year · medium · primarily residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- Black81%
- Hispanic6%
- Two or more races4%
- Unknown3%
- White3%
- International2%
- Asian1%
First-gen students36%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time15%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Median family income$36k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 26
What you can study.