College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Bowling Green State University-Main Campus

OHLarge public institution · Overall rank #740 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Bowling Green State University-Main Campus #740 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Bowling Green State University-Main Campus is a public university in Bowling Green, Ohio, where Business and Education lead the degree mix. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study.

Mobility is the strongest , at above average. Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds to expected earnings, while the part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts from them. Pell recipients complete at a rate below the entering cohort as a whole, and mobility is above average.

Access is above average as well, but affordability is modestly below average, with what families pay after aid above the median at comparable schools. The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools.

The highest-earning programs are in engineering and technology, not in the business and education fields that lead the degree mix.

Bowling Green State University-Main Campus at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
81.0%
Six-year completion[2]
63.7%
Four-year earnings[3]
$54,998

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$21,820
Median student debt[4]
$25,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$25,947

Bowling Green State University-Main Campus rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Bowling Green State University-Main Campus is a public university in Bowling Green, Ohio, with an undergraduate enrollment of 12,812. Its composite standing is near the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (50th percentile).

Bowling Green State University-Main Campus admits 81.0% of applicants, a rate that is close to the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 81.6% return for a second year, against a peer median of 83.1%.

63.7% complete a degree within six years, compared to a peer median of 65.0%. An estimated 12.8% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes the first-time, full-time cohort and not the full student body.

The four pillars are spread across the ranking. Mobility is the strongest, at the 72nd percentile, and access follows at the 67th percentile.

Return and affordability sit lower, at the 36th and 32nd percentiles respectively. The shape is a public university where the access and mobility pillars lead, while return and affordability are the weaker dimensions.

Azimuth evaluates Bowling Green State University-Main Campus on four pillars among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. Mobility is the strongest, at the 72nd percentile.

Access sits at the 67th percentile, while return is at the 36th percentile. Affordability is the weakest pillar, at the 32nd percentile.

23.1% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Among enrolled students who submitted SAT scores, the middle 50% fell between 1,000 and 1,210.

Among enrolled students who submitted ACT scores, the middle 50% fell between 19 and 26. Azimuth ranks Bowling Green State University-Main Campus #492 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The six-year completion rate for Pell recipients is 49.6%, 14.1 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole (63.7%). Azimuth ranks the university #418 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $6,819 less than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Bowling Green State University-Main Campus rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#740

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 72
Access & reach
National percentile: 67
Affordability
National percentile: 32
Return on investment
National percentile: 36

01 / Bowling Green State University-Main Campus briefing

Bowling Green State University-Main Campus cost & financial aid[6][7]

Affordability is the weakest pillar for Bowling Green State University-Main Campus, a public university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The published cost of attendance is $33,007, with in-state tuition and fees at $14,460 and room and board at $14,508.

Out-of-state students see a higher tuition of $22,448. For the average aid recipient, grants and scholarships reduce that sticker by $8,985, bringing the average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—to $24,022.

That figure sits above the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $8,388. Azimuth ranks the university #965 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The net price is the central cost figure here, and it is higher than what peers charge on average.

Bowling Green State University-Main Campus publishes a cost of attendance of $33,007, with in-state tuition and fees at $14,460 and room and board at $14,508. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $18,396, rising to $21,820 for the $48,001–$75,000 band and $27,414 for families earning over $110,000.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,018. Azimuth ranks the university #965 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 27% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $8,985 against the sticker price. The across all aid recipients is $24,022, which sits above the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $8,388.

Out-of-state students face a higher published tuition of $22,448, though aid packages can narrow that gap. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, the median federal student debt is $25,000.

That median is above the peer median of $20,076 by $4,924, and 92.4% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. The median Parent PLUS borrowing stands at $25,947.

If repaid over ten years, the median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$21,820

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Bowling Green State University-Main Campus

Borrowing is widespread at Bowling Green State University-Main Campus: about 92.4% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among those who complete a degree, the median federal student debt is $25,000.

That spread means some graduates carry very little federal debt while others approach the upper end. The median federal debt at the university is above the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $4,924.

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month. Parent borrowers are a separate population, and the median Parent PLUS loan at the university is $25,947.

At Bowling Green State University-Main Campus, median earnings for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled reach $54,998 four years after completion. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, that median is in the 32nd percentile.

That is $10,612 below the median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $6,819 less than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 29th percentile. Earnings scenarios run from $43,771 in a downside case to $80,753 in an upside case, with $54,998 as the typical outcome.

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $25,000 in federal loans, $4,924 above the peer median of $20,076. If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month.

Earnings land below both the model's expectation and the peer median, while debt sits above the peer median.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $25,947. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $284.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$25,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$25,947

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$284/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$330/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Bowling Green State University-Main Campus briefing

Bowling Green State University-Main Campus career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completion, graduates of Bowling Green State University-Main Campus earn a median of $54,998, in the 32nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure sits below the peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $10,612.

Graduates earn about $6,819 less than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 29th percentile. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 36th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,095. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $12,914.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $915. The median earnings and the earnings-beyond-expectations result both land below the midpoint.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of Bowling Green State University-Main Campus who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $54,998. That figure is drawn from an earnings cohort of 4,864 completers, and it sits $10,612 below the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth places the university's median earnings in the 32nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $6,819 less than the model expects for similar students.

The gap falls at the 29th percentile. Earnings scenarios based on the program mix show a typical figure of $54,998, with a downside of $43,771 and an upside of $80,753.

An estimated 26.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Federally aided graduates of Bowling Green State University-Main Campus who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $54,998 four years after completion, at the 32nd percentile. The university sits $10,612 below the $65,610 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks Bowling Green State University-Main Campus #941 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $6,819 less than the model expects for similar students.

That result is at the 29th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,095.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $12,914. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $915.

The university's bachelor's degrees concentrate in education, business, and health professions, with engineering and computer science making up smaller shares. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix run from a downside of $43,771 to an upside of $80,753.

An estimated 26.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The earnings scenarios at Bowling Green State University-Main Campus span from a downside of $43,771 to an upside of $80,753 four years after completion, with the typical scenario at $54,998. That range shows the variation in earnings across the university's 59 programs with published data.

The highest-earning programs illustrate the upper end of the spread: Computer Engineering completers earn a median of $93,626 four years after completion, Engineering-Related Fields completers earn a median of $89,514, and General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations completers earn a median of $86,245.

The published cost of attendance at Bowling Green State University-Main Campus is $33,007, and aid covers about 27% of that for the average aid recipient. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $24,022, which is $8,388 above the peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Net prices move across income bands but the spread is modest. The lowest band, for families earning under $30,000, averages $18,396, while the highest band, for families earning over $110,000, averages $27,414.

The spread between the two ends is $9,018. Graduates leave with a median of $25,000 in federal student loans, $4,924 above the $20,076 median for comparable institutions.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years. Graduates earn about $6,819 less than the model expects for similar students.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$6,095
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$12,914
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$6,819

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Bowling Green State University-Main Campus briefing

Bowling Green State University-Main Campus acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Bowling Green State University-Main Campus admits 81.0% of applicants, a rate that sits close to the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The university is broadly accessible, and the admission rate reflects that posture.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
81.0%
Approximate lower endpoint
1000
Reported average
1117
Approximate upper endpoint
1210

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Bowling Green State University-Main Campus briefing

What are the largest majors at Bowling Green State University-Main Campus?[12]

The largest programs at Bowling Green State University-Main Campus span education and business fields with very different earnings profiles four years after completion. Special Education and Teaching, the largest program, shows a median of $45,224 with 204 degrees awarded.

Business Administration and Management, the second largest, posts $79,291 on 128 degrees awarded. The highest-earning programs are concentrated in engineering.

Computer Engineering leads with a median of $93,626 on 49 degrees awarded. Engineering-Related Fields follows at $89,514 on 53 degrees awarded.

The spread between these engineering, business, and education programs shows wide variation in median earnings four years after completion.

Bowling Green State University-Main Campus awards the most bachelor's degrees in Special Education and Teaching, with 204 degrees awarded and a median of $45,224 four years after completion. Business Administration and Management follows with 128 degrees awarded and a median of $79,291.

Kinesiology and Physical Education awarded 127 degrees, with completers earning a median of $52,818 four years after completion. The highest-earning field is Computer Engineering, where 49 degrees were awarded and completers earn a median of $93,626 four years after completion.

Engineering-Related Fields follows at $89,514 with 53 degrees awarded. The program mix leans toward Business (16.4% of degrees awarded) and Education (15.4%).

The program mix at Bowling Green State University-Main Campus is led by Business, which accounts for 16.4% of bachelor's degrees awarded, closely followed by Education at 15.4%. Health Professions is the third-largest family, at 9.2% of degrees awarded.

The university has 59 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Special Education and Teaching, at 204 degrees awarded a year.

Its graduates earn a median of $45,224 four years after completion, which is 0.90x the national median for its field. Business Administration and Management is the second-largest, with 128 degrees awarded and median earnings of $79,291.

The highest-earning programs are much smaller. Computer Engineering graduates report the top median, at $93,626, from 49 degrees a year.

Engineering-Related Fields follows at $89,514, with 53 degrees awarded. General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations rounds out the top three, at $86,245 from 36 degrees.

The pattern is one of concentration in fields that coincide with public-sector and service work, with the largest programs in education and business. Across all fields, 15.6% of degrees are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Special Education and Teaching 204 degrees awarded
$45,224
Business Administration, Management and Operations 128 degrees awarded
$79,291
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 127 degrees awarded
$52,818
Biology, General 121 degrees awarded
$47,131
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 118 degrees awarded
$45,168
Criminal Justice and Corrections 111 degrees awarded
$52,068

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Bowling Green State University-Main Campus briefing

How does Bowling Green State University-Main Campus serve students from different backgrounds?

Bowling Green State University-Main Campus's strongest pillar is mobility, where Azimuth places the public university in the 72nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 63.7%, while Pell recipients complete at 49.6% — a gap of 14.1 percentage points below the overall rate.

Four years after completion, graduates earn about $6,819 less than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 29th percentile nationally. The graduation rate trails the peer median of 65.0%, the middle value for comparable institutions, and earnings fall short of the model's expectation.

Bowling Green State University-Main Campus is a public university in Bowling Green, Ohio, that enrolls 12,812 undergraduates. The university admits 81.0% of applicants, a rate above the peer median of 78.1%—the middle value for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Pell Grant recipients represent 23.1% of the student body, and an estimated 12.8% enter as transfers or part-time students. The access pillar is in the 67th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

06 / Bowling Green State University-Main Campus briefing

What colleges are similar to Bowling Green State University-Main Campus?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Bowling Green State University-Main Campus.

Admissions peerMount Vernon Nazarene University84.2% admitted
Comparison with Bowling Green State University-Main Campus
MeasureBowling Green State University-Main CampusMount Vernon Nazarene University
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,998$53,516-$1,482 vs Bowling Green State University-Main Campus
Average annual net price$24,022$22,421-$1,601 vs Bowling Green State University-Main Campus · lower cost
Admission rate81.0%84.2%
Higher-admission alternativeRochester Christian University97.7% admitted
Comparison with Bowling Green State University-Main Campus
MeasureBowling Green State University-Main CampusRochester Christian University
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,998$50,000-$4,998 vs Bowling Green State University-Main Campus
Average annual net price$24,022$21,456-$2,566 vs Bowling Green State University-Main Campus · lower cost
Admission rate81.0%97.7%
Nearby alternativeMount Vernon Nazarene UniversityNearby option · OH
Comparison with Bowling Green State University-Main Campus
MeasureBowling Green State University-Main CampusMount Vernon Nazarene University
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,998$53,516-$1,482 vs Bowling Green State University-Main Campus
Average annual net price$24,022$22,421-$1,601 vs Bowling Green State University-Main Campus · lower cost
Admission rate81.0%84.2%
Higher-earnings alternativeOhio Northern University$72,080 earnings
Comparison with Bowling Green State University-Main Campus
MeasureBowling Green State University-Main CampusOhio Northern University
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,998$72,080+$17,082 vs Bowling Green State University-Main Campus
Average annual net price$24,022$24,478+$456 vs Bowling Green State University-Main Campus · higher cost
Admission rate81.0%74.4%
Explore Ohio Northern University →
Lower-cost alternativePurdue University Fort Wayne$13,171 average net price
Comparison with Bowling Green State University-Main Campus
MeasureBowling Green State University-Main CampusPurdue University Fort Wayne
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,998$56,455+$1,457 vs Bowling Green State University-Main Campus
Average annual net price$24,022$13,171-$10,851 vs Bowling Green State University-Main Campus · lower cost
Admission rate81.0%83.9%
Explore Purdue University Fort Wayne →
Similar profileMissouri State University-SpringfieldMatched across several measures
Comparison with Bowling Green State University-Main Campus
MeasureBowling Green State University-Main CampusMissouri State University-Springfield
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,998$53,058-$1,940 vs Bowling Green State University-Main Campus
Average annual net price$24,022$17,613-$6,409 vs Bowling Green State University-Main Campus · lower cost
Admission rate81.0%90.5%
Explore Missouri State University-Springfield →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings