College · Private nonprofit · Defiance, OH · Town
Defiance College
Defiance, OH
Religious affiliation
Admit rate48%
6-yr median pay$39k
Net price / yr$26k
Undergrad size499
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $26k/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 48% means this is selective — grades, essays, and testing matter. Admitted students average ACT 20.
If you get in
499 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 $54k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $26k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$215k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$105k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$109k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback2.7x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $29.3k
- Room & board
- $12.6k
- Books & supplies
- $1,400
How students pay for it.
Pell grants50%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans72%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$27k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $6k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention59%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr31%
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$49k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out39%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Town
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 499
- Location
- Defiance, 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, inclusive, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
Identity
Religious affiliation
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White53%
- Black35%
- Hispanic7%
- Two or more races2%
- International1%
- Unknown1%
- American Indian / Alaska Native1%
First-gen students36%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time4%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$59k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 27
What you can study.