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🎓 College profile

Grand Valley State University

MI · Public · Fringe town · 24,297 applicants 2023

95% admit rate SAT 940–1190 $22,534/yr at $110k+ income

🧭 A parent's read

  • The major moves the money more than the admit letter. Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering grads from here earn about $100,456 four years out; film grads about $39,082 — a 2.6× spread on the same diploma. Have the major conversation before you deposit, not after.
  • The payoff holds even at full price: roughly 5× over a decade. With no aid at all — the full in-state ~$28,367/yr — a decade of median earnings (~$56,118/yr) still runs about 5× the four-year cost. This payoff doesn't depend on qualifying for anything. (Out-of-state costs more.)
  • Ask the submit question deliberately. This college is test-optional — but at many such colleges, applicants who submit strong scores are admitted at meaningfully higher rates. “Optional” is a strategy decision, not a pass.

Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.

Get your child's odds at Grand Valley State University Free Family Decision Report — Reach / Match / Likely + your real net price. Grand Valley State University starts already on the list. Start →

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants. Affordable for in-state families — net price averages ~$16,317/yr.

✅ Best for

  • Solid academic profiles — the admitted-student bands above are within reach for strong students
  • Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Health Professions (the two biggest majors)

🎯 The reality

  • Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 940, or ACT below 21, or unweighted GPA below ~3.50 (admitted-class quartiles; GPA floor is a calibrated heuristic where CDS not yet on file)

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification
Doctoral/Professional Universities
Total enrollment
18,854
20,000 and above
In-state tuitionThe published full price before any aid. Families who don't qualify for need-based aid — common above ~$110K income — pay this, minus any merit scholarships.
$15,140
sticker, before aid
Out-of-state tuition
$21,548
+$6,408 vs in-state
Admit rateThe share of applicants a college accepts. Useful context, but your student's odds depend on their own grades and scores, not the average.
94.7%
Accepts the majority
SAT middle 50%The middle half of enrolled students scored in this range — a quarter scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
940–1190
EBRW + Math composite
ACT middle 50%The middle half of enrolled students scored in this range — a quarter scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
21–28
composite
Test policyApplicants choose whether to send SAT/ACT scores. At many such colleges, students who submit strong scores are still admitted at higher rates.
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earningsMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$56,118
median, after entry

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

📊 Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry
$47,840
Earnings, 10 yrs after entryMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$56,118
4-year completionThe share of students who finish a bachelor's in four years. Nationally barely half do — and a fifth year quietly adds a full extra year of cost to the real price.
67%
Median debt (completers)The federal-loan balance of the typical graduating borrower. Families who pay cash aren't counted, so read it as "among those who borrowed."
$24,500

💰 The real cost

What families at your income actually pay

Above $110K income — where most Reach families sit — aid-receiving families average $22,534/yr at Grand Valley State University; families who don't qualify for aid pay the full ~$28,367/yr. Lower brackets pay less — the full ladder is below. One caveat, once: every bracket figure here averages only the families in that bracket who received aid — it says nothing about whether your family will qualify.

🔎 Earning over $110K? You're above the top federal bracket — the median family headed by a 45-to-54-year-old (the prime college-parent years) earned about $134K in 2024, and the federal data lumps everyone from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Whether you'll get need aidGrant money based on your family's finances (via FAFSA and the college's own forms), not your student's stats. at this income is entirely college-specific: a few heavily-endowed schools meet full need well past $150K, while many others give little above the brackets shown — there, merit scholarships, where offered, become the realistic lever.

Start your Family Decision Report →

Your odds + estimated net price across your whole college list — then confirm the exact figure with Grand Valley State University's own Net Price Calculator ↗ (10–15 min; have your tax return handy).

Family income $110k+ most Reach families
$22,534/yr
Family income $75-110k
$16,609/yr
Family income $48-75k
$12,861/yr
Family income $30-48k
$11,902/yr
Family income $0-30k
$12,272/yr

📈 The payoffTen years of typical earnings divided by four years of cost. A 3× means a decade of median pay covers the cost three times over — check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you., both ways

4.9× at full price 8.6× with aid
Full price, no aidThe all-in yearly price — tuition, housing, food, books, fees — before any aid. This is the real "full price," not just the tuition line. (4 yrs, in-state)
$113,468
~$28,367/yr all-in (out-of-state runs higher)
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$65,268
$16,317/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$561,180
$56,118/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
2.0 yrs
at full price (1.2 with aid), at the median earnings rate

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41–NPT45; Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates; suppressed brackets = small cohorts; the $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — the brackets haven't been refreshed since the early 2010s). Payoff multiple = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (4-yr cost); full price is the published cost of attendance, largely in-state for publics; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Grand Valley State University

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Grand Valley State University actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Business, Management, & Marketing
900 degrees · 37.3%
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
2. Health Professions
639 degrees · 26.5%
Highest-paying group on this list, but most careers require additional training beyond a 4-year degree.
3. Biological & Biomedical Sciences
388 degrees · 16.1%
Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.
4. Psychology
252 degrees · 10.4%
Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.
5. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness
235 degrees · 9.7%
Coaching, athletic training, public-sector recreation, fitness industry.

💼 What those majors earn here

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Grand Valley State University's own graduates, not national averages.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Computer Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 17 $80,746 $103,253
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 31 $80,732 $100,456
Manufacturing Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 20 $76,754 $95,416
Computer and Information Sciences, General. Bachelor's Degree 98 $74,360 $94,330
Mechanical Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 71 $75,777 $90,565
Information Science/Studies. Bachelor's Degree 32 $66,967 $81,420
Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians. Bachelor's Degree 19 $58,781 $80,398
International Business. Bachelor's Degree 16 $58,746 $80,324
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 179 $51,186 $80,153
Business Administration, Management and Operations. Bachelor's Degree 123 $57,760 $79,324

Sources: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a; bachelor's-level first majors, 2-digit CIP family — share is of the top 5 only) · College Scorecard program-level outcomes (PP-FOS). Full college-vs-major comparison: /college-outcomes →

📈 Student body & economic mobility

Who attends here — and what the campus adds.

Opportunity Insights data. Why it matters even if you're full-pay: a high mobility rate means the campus itself confers earnings power — the outcomes aren't just selection effects.

Top-1% access
0.8%
from top-1% households
Mobility rateThe share of ALL students who arrived from the bottom 20% of family incomes AND reached the top 20% themselves by their early 30s — access and lift in one number, and a sign the campus itself adds earnings power.
0.8%
bottom 20% → top 20% by age 32
Upward rate
23.3%
of lower-income students who reach the top 20%
Pell recipientsStudents receiving federal Pell grants, which go to lower- and middle-income families — the standard shorthand for a college's economic mix.
29%
on federal need grants — context for these numbers

Full leaderboards: /college-mobility →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at Grand Valley State University

CS degrees (annual)
145
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

Alternatives to Grand Valley State University

Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.

🏆 Better merit-aid options
These similar-selectivity schools publish merit scholarships your family can plan around — your kid’s stats could unlock real scholarship dollars.
Texas Tech University
TX · Public
30 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
Mississippi State University
MS · Public
18 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
University of Mississippi
MS · Public
14 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
💰 Lower full price
Similar selectivity, but a meaningfully lower full sticker price — the comparison that matters most for families who won't qualify for much need-based aid.
United States Merchant Marine Academy
NY · Public
$9,168/yr full price (in-state) · $19,199 less before aid
Indiana University-Kokomo
IN · Public
$11,837/yr full price (in-state) · $16,530 less before aid
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
GA · Public
$13,956/yr full price (in-state) · $14,411 less before aid
🚀 Stronger campus value-add
Per Opportunity Insights, these campuses add more earnings power to the students they enroll than Grand Valley State University does — a quality signal, not a cost play.
CUNY Lehman College
NY · Public
10.2% mobility rate (vs 0.8% here)
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
NY · Public
9.7% mobility rate (vs 0.8% here)
Pace University
NY · Private nonprofit
8.4% mobility rate (vs 0.8% here)

⚖️ Or compare any college side-by-side

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