College profile
Jacksonville State University
AL · Public · Small suburb · 12,008 applicants 2023
A parent's read
- Grades and scores convert directly to dollars here. This college publishes an automatic merit grid — hit the GPA/score tiers and the discount is guaranteed, no negotiation. Check the scholarship table below before assuming the sticker.
- The payoff holds even at full price: roughly 5× over a decade. With no aid at all — the full in-state ~$24,257/yr — a decade of median earnings (~$45,235/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.
Parent/student verdict
AccessibleAccessible for most applicants. Affordable — net price averages ~$14,279/yr among aid recipients. Major value play for in-state residents.
Best for
- Strong test/GPA students chasing merit aid — Gamecock Prestige on offer (see merit-scholarship tab below)
- In-state residents (tuition ~$12,894 — major value play)
- Students drawn to Health Professions or Education (the two biggest majors)
The reality
- You'd be near the bottom of their admitted class if: SAT below 970, or ACT below 17 (test bands are the school's own; the GPA floor is our estimate, not a published figure)
Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price with aid and at full price, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.
What are your child's odds here?
Enter their numbers once — this and every college page shows their verdict, and the UC campus cards on California school pages light up with it too. Free, no email.
Weighted is the higher GPA, with honors/AP credit in it — pick whichever your school reports. PSAT scores work in the SAT box.
Institutional snapshot
What kind of college is this?
6% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, 45% an ACT — these ranges describe students who submitted, not the whole class.
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).
The real cost
What Jacksonville State University actually costs
Which side your family lands on isn't set by any national income line — it's set by Jacksonville State University's own aid decision: the gap between its price and your family's finances.
Your odds + estimated cost across your whole college list, side by side.
The payoffTen years of typical graduate pay minus four years of cost — how many dollars ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten. Check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you; median pay reflects who a college admits and what they study as much as the college itself., both ways
+$355K ahead at full price +$395K with aidSource: College Scorecard (average net price among Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates who received aid) and each college's published cost of attendance. We don't show the federal net-price-by-income brackets: their categories were fixed in 2008 and never adjusted, and none of the averages is your family's own number — the full story. Payoff = (10-yr median earnings × 10) − (4 years of cost), in dollars — how far ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten; medians travel with the students a college admits and the majors they choose as much as with the college itself. 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 Jacksonville State University
Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Jacksonville State University actually graduates — not just what it markets.
What those majors earn here
Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Jacksonville State University's own graduates, not national averages.
| Major (CIP) | 4-yr earnings |
|---|---|
| Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians, Other. | $92,358 |
| Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians. | $90,850 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | $83,984 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | $79,129 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | $71,420 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | $70,025 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | $62,589 |
| Public Administration and Social Service Professions, Other. | $57,191 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | $56,874 |
| Mathematics. | $52,365 |
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 →
Merit aidScholarship money awarded for grades or test scores, not financial need — at many colleges it's automatic at certain GPA/score levels.
What your test score unlocks at Jacksonville State University
Score-or-merit-based scholarships published by the institution. Stackable in most cases — confirm with the financial aid office.
| Award | Annual award | Score gate |
|---|---|---|
|
Gamecock Prestige
Top tier · any
|
$10,500/yr Fall 2026 published rate · source ↗ |
1390+ SAT |
See all merit scholarships across colleges + 13 national awards on /merit-scholarships →
Student body & economic mobility
Who attends here — and what the campus adds.
Opportunity Insights data. It measures two things at once: how many lower-income students a college enrols, and how many of them reach the top earnings quintile later. A high rate says the college does both — it does not establish that the campus caused the earnings, because the students it admits differ from the students it doesn't. Read it as a signal about access and destination, not as proof of value added.
Full leaderboards: /college-mobility →
AI program signal
AI + computing education at Jacksonville State University
Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →
Alternatives to Jacksonville State University
Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.
Or compare any college side-by-side
Deciding on Jacksonville State University?
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At a glance
JSON · Using this page with an AI assistantJacksonville State University is a public four-year college in AL. It admitted 76% of applicants (12,008 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-optional.
Middle 50% of enrolled first-years who submitted that test: SAT 970–1260, ACT 17–24. 6% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, 45% an ACT — these ranges describe students who submitted, not the whole class.
Cost: about $14,279 a year on average with aid, $24,257 a year at full price for in-state students.
Median earnings ten years after entry: $45,235 a year. Payoff, meaning ten years of that pay minus four years of cost: $395,234 ahead with aid, $355,322 ahead at full price.
Highest median earnings four years after the degree, by program: Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians, Other ($92,358); Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians ($90,850); Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing ($83,984).
Economic mobility (Opportunity Insights): 13% of students came from families in the bottom fifth of income, and 10% of those reached the top fifth as adults.
Machine-readable version of this page: https://highschoolreach.com/colleges/jacksonville-state-university.json