College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Indiana State University

INMedium public institution · Overall rank #317 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Indiana State University ranks #317 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Indiana State University is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, where the degree mix is led by Business and Health Professions. Affordability is well above average.

Graduates earn about what predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns above the median at comparable schools. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds to expected earnings, while the remainder it cannot explain subtracts from them.

Return is around the average. Pell students complete within a few points of the overall rate, and both access and mobility are well above average.

The lowest income band pays well below the published cost, while the highest pays closer to it, so the price case turns on income. The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study. The largest program is not the highest-earning one.

Indiana State University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
80.8%
Six-year completion[2]
42.9%
Four-year earnings[3]
$57,688

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$9,317
Median student debt[4]
$24,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$17,049

Indiana State University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Indiana State University is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, enrolling 6,188 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the upper third of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The university admits 80.8% of applicants, a rate close to the 85.9% median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Of students who start full time, 65.8% return for a second year, against a peer median of 73.7%.

The six-year graduation rate for that first-time, full-time cohort is 42.9%, compared with a peer median of 49.1%. An estimated 25.7% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the graduation rate does not capture the experience of everyone who studies here.

The four sit close together, with affordability the strongest and return the weakest. Access and mobility are close to each other.

The shape is a public university where the financial picture is the clearest strength.

Affordability is the pillar that stands out most clearly at Indiana State University, sitting in the 81st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Access and mobility are not far behind, both at the 78th percentile.

Return is the weakest of the four, at the 48th percentile. The profile is one of a public university where cost and access are the stronger suits, while the earnings picture is more mixed.

41.6% of undergraduates at Indiana State University receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks Indiana State University #318 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 38.7%, 4.2 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (42.9%). Azimuth ranks the university #318 for mobility.

Graduates earn about $763 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

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

Indiana State University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#317

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 78
Access & reach
National percentile: 78
Affordability
National percentile: 81
Return on investment
National percentile: 48

Top-ranked majors

  1. Construction Management#9
  2. Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions#15
  3. Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management#17

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Indiana State University briefing

Indiana State University cost & financial aid[6][7]

The published cost of attendance at Indiana State University is $24,535. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported in-state tuition of $9,978 and required fees of $280 for the 2024-25 academic year.

On-campus food and housing added $12,262. Out-of-state students face a published tuition of $22,042.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $10,873. That is $3,195 below the $14,068 median for comparable institutions.

Financial aid reduces the published cost by $13,662 on average. Azimuth ranks the university #270 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The published cost of attendance at Indiana State University is $24,535. Azimuth ranks the university #270 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $6,455, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $9,317, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $19,345. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $12,890.

Aid covers about 56% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The across all aid recipients is $10,873, which is $3,195 below the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

86.4% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $24,000 in federal student loans, which is $2,771 above the peer median of $21,229.

Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $17,049 in Parent PLUS loans. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $273 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$9,317

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Indiana State University

Federal loans reach 86.4% of federal aid recipients, and borrowers who complete leave with median federal student loan debt of $24,000. The median is $2,771 above the $21,229 peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size).

For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $17,049. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported that 67% of graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $27,948 in cumulative borrowing per borrower.

Its loan figures include federal loans held by 66% of graduates, averaging $21,118 per federal borrower. They also include private loans held by 14% of graduates, averaging $33,304 per private borrower.

The return picture at Indiana State University is mixed. Graduates earn a median of $57,688 four years after completion, a figure that lands in the 42nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

They earn about $763 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level, an outcome in the 58th percentile nationally. Earnings scenarios derived from the university's program mix show a typical earnings level matching that median, with a downside scenario of $44,671 and an upside scenario of $84,204.

On the cost side, the median federal student debt at completion is $24,000, which is above the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,771. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $273 a month if repaid over ten years.

Earnings that sit near the model's expectation, combined with debt that runs above the peer median, mean the financial equation here depends heavily on the specific program a student chooses.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $17,049. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $273.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$24,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$17,049

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$273/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$217/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 / Indiana State University briefing

Indiana State University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Azimuth places the return pillar for Indiana State University at the 48th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median for federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled is $57,688 four years after completion, in the 42nd percentile.

That is $387 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $763 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

That result is at the 58th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,191.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $6,428. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $726.

Indiana State University graduates who received federal aid and are working four years after completing a degree earn a median of $57,688. The figure comes from a cohort of 2,787 completers and sits at the 42nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Indiana State University graduates earn about $763 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. This metric captures the gap between observed pay and what the earnings model predicts for comparable students.

Scenarios drawn from the program mix estimate typical earnings at $57,688, with a downside of $44,671 and an upside of $84,204. An estimated 26.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Four years after completion, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $57,688, placing them in the 42nd percentile. That is $387 above the peer median of $57,301 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks Indiana State University #768 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions nationally. Graduates earn about $763 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

That result lands in the 58th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations measure the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students with the same background.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,191. The part it attributes directly to a remainder that it does not explain subtracts $6,428.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component alone adds $726 toward the gap. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix alone, range from $44,671 on the downside to $84,204 on the upside.

Earnings scenarios are estimates from the program mix, not percentiles or observed outcomes for any specific observed group of graduates. An estimated 26.1% of graduates continue on to graduate study, based on the program mix and not on observed enrollment.

Earnings four years after completion vary widely across the university's 37 programs with published data. The earnings scenarios span from a downside of $44,671 to an upside of $84,204, a range that reflects that variation.

The highest-earning programs show the upper end of the spread. Construction Management completers earn a median of $94,902, Management Science graduates reach $92,741, and Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians completers earn $91,915.

Indiana State University keeps its net price low: the average aid recipient pays $10,873, which is below the median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size). That price advantage is the strongest pillar in the university's Azimuth profile, where affordability lands in the 81st percentile nationally.

The return picture is more measured. Graduates earn about $763 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $24,000, which runs above the median of $21,229 for comparable institutions. If repaid over ten years, that debt would mean a monthly payment of $273.

Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $17,049. A low net price and near-expected earnings point in the same direction, though the median debt sits above the peer mark.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$7,191
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$6,428
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$763

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 / Indiana State University briefing

Indiana State University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Indiana State University admits 80.8% of applicants, a rate that sits below the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 11,759 applicants and 10,784 admitted students.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
80.8%
25th percentile
880
Median
980
75th percentile
1100

CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Indiana State University briefing

What are the largest majors at Indiana State University?[12]

Indiana State University awards bachelor's degrees across 37 fields with published four-year earnings, and Azimuth ranks 28 of them nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions. The highest-earning program, Construction Management, shows a median of $94,902 four years after completion, with 89 degrees awarded.

Management Science follows at $92,741, though it awarded only 15 degrees. Nursing, the most-awarded program at 185 degrees, reaches $81,988 and an Azimuth national rank of #237.

Air Transportation earns $71,254 with a national rank of #25 on 95 degrees awarded. By contrast, Teacher Education and Criminology sit in the $44,482 to $51,991 range, reflecting the spread between higher- and moderate-earning fields at the university.

Construction Management is the university's best nationally ranked bachelor's field at #9 nationally and #1 in Indiana. The program awarded 89 degrees, and its completers show a median of $94,902 four years after completion.

Air Transportation ranks #25 nationally and #2 in Indiana, and it awarded 95 degrees. Its completers earn a median of $71,254 four years after completion.

Azimuth assigns national ranks to 28 bachelor's programs at the university, and 37 fields have published earnings. Among the larger programs, Nursing awarded 185 degrees and ranks #237 nationally, with completers earning $81,988.

Air Transportation awarded 95 degrees and ranks #25 nationally, and its median four years after completion is $71,254.

Indiana State University awards bachelor's degrees across 28 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 37 with published four-year earnings data. The program mix is led by Business, which accounts for 17.6% of degrees awarded, followed by Health Professions at 15.6% and Social Sciences at 9.6%.

The largest single programs are Nursing at 185 degrees awarded, Criminology at 124, and Teacher Education at 109. The highest-ranked program is Construction Management, which Azimuth ranks #1 in Indiana within its field.

It awards 89 degrees a year. Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions ranks #15 nationally within its field and #1 in Indiana with 41 degrees awarded.

Construction Management reports the highest four-year earnings at $94,902, from 89 degrees awarded. Nursing, the largest program, earns a median of $81,988.

The pattern is one of strength spread across several applied fields rather than concentrated in a single department. The highest-ranked programs sit in construction management, health services, and recreation management, while the best-paid programs are in construction management and management science.

14.4% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields, and the earnings picture four years out understates the trajectory for fields where graduate study is common.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 185 degrees awarded
$81,988
Criminology 124 degrees awarded
$51,991
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 109 degrees awarded
$44,482
Air Transportation 95 degrees awarded
$71,254
Psychology, General 93 degrees awarded
$42,822
Construction Management 89 degrees awarded
$94,902

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 / Indiana State University briefing

How does Indiana State University serve students from different backgrounds?

Indiana State University's strongest pillar is affordability, and its mobility results follow a similar pattern: the university lands in the 78th percentile for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 42.9%, while Pell recipients complete at 38.7% — below the overall rate by 4.2 percentage points.

Four years after completion, graduates earn about $763 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level, a result that sits in the 58th percentile. A graduation rate that trails the median for comparable institutions, 49.1%, and earnings that are effectively at the expected level point the same way: the return picture here is modest.

Indiana State University enrolls 6,188 undergraduates and admits 80.8% of applicants, a rate that sits below the median for comparable institutions, which is 85.9%. Pell Grant recipients make up 41.6% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 25.7% enter as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 78th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

06 / Indiana State University briefing

What colleges are similar to Indiana State University?[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 Indiana State University.

Admissions peerAlbion College80.7% admitted
Comparison with Indiana State University
MeasureIndiana State UniversityAlbion College
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,688$55,297-$2,391 vs Indiana State University
Average annual net price$10,873$14,301+$3,428 vs Indiana State University · higher cost
Admission rate80.8%80.7%
Higher-admission alternativeGrand View University99.1% admitted
Comparison with Indiana State University
MeasureIndiana State UniversityGrand View University
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,688$57,521-$167 vs Indiana State University
Average annual net price$10,873$21,774+$10,901 vs Indiana State University · higher cost
Admission rate80.8%99.1%
Nearby alternativeOakland City UniversityNearby option · IN
Comparison with Indiana State University
MeasureIndiana State UniversityOakland City University
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,688$57,090-$598 vs Indiana State University
Average annual net price$10,873$15,210+$4,337 vs Indiana State University · higher cost
Admission rate80.8%82.5%
Higher-earnings alternativeIndiana University-Indianapolis$64,616 earnings
Comparison with Indiana State University
MeasureIndiana State UniversityIndiana University-Indianapolis
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,688$64,616+$6,928 vs Indiana State University
Average annual net price$10,873$11,668+$795 vs Indiana State University · higher cost
Admission rate80.8%76.4%
Explore Indiana University-Indianapolis →
Lower-cost alternativeIndiana University-Kokomo$3,968 average net price
Comparison with Indiana State University
MeasureIndiana State UniversityIndiana University-Kokomo
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,688$54,618-$3,070 vs Indiana State University
Average annual net price$10,873$3,968-$6,905 vs Indiana State University · lower cost
Admission rate80.8%86.5%
Explore Indiana University-Kokomo →
Similar profileUniversity of Wisconsin-Green BayMatched across several measures
Comparison with Indiana State University
MeasureIndiana State UniversityUniversity of Wisconsin-Green Bay
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,688$54,344-$3,344 vs Indiana State University
Average annual net price$10,873$13,369+$2,496 vs Indiana State University · higher cost
Admission rate80.8%88.6%
Explore University of Wisconsin-Green Bay →

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