College · Public · Wilberforce, OH · Rural
Central State University
Wilberforce, OH
HBCU
Admit rate99%
6-yr median pay$27k
Net price / yr$13k
Undergrad size2,620
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $13k/yr for a shot at a $27k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 99% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average ACT 16.
If you get in
2,620 undergrads. Small. You will know your cohort.
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 $22k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $13k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$88k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$52k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$35k
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
- $8.1k
- Tuition · out-of-state
- $10.1k
- Room & board
- $12.0k
- Books & supplies
- $1,200
How students pay for it.
Pell grants53%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans42%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$31k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $10k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention54%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr23%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$27k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$33k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out34%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Rural
- Control
- Public
- Undergrad size
- 2,620
- Location
- Wilberforce, OH
- Region
- Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · primarily residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · higher part-time
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- Black58%
- Unknown14%
- White10%
- International9%
- Hispanic5%
- Two or more races3%
- Asian1%
First-gen students40%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time21%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Median family income$22k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 29
What you can study.