College · Public · Dickinson, ND · Town
Dickinson State University
Dickinson, ND
Admit rate37%
6-yr median pay$49k
Net price / yr$14k
Undergrad size1,090
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $14k/yr for a shot at a $49k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 37% means this is selective — grades, essays, and testing matter. Admitted students average ACT 19.
If you get in
1,090 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 $21k/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$82k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$56k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$26k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.2x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $9.1k
- Room & board
- $8.6k
- Books & supplies
- $1,200
How students pay for it.
Pell grants21%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans34%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$18k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $7k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention64%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr51%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$49k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$51k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out18%
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
- 1,090
- Location
- Dickinson, ND
- Region
- Plains (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · primarily nonresidential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
- Also known as
- DSU
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White77%
- Two or more races7%
- Hispanic7%
- Black3%
- International2%
- American Indian / Alaska Native2%
- Unknown1%
- Asian1%
- Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander1%
First-gen students31%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time17%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Median family income$59k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 30
What you can study.