Saginaw Valley State University

University Center, MI · Public · 5,989 undergrads (medium, suburb) · website ↗

Test-optional
No application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$9,844
$30,000 – $48,000	$19,711
$48,000 – $75,000	$20,053
$75,000 – $110,000	$18,879
Over $110,000	$24,103
All incomes (average)	$10,775

Sticker tuition and fees: $12,930 in-state, $30,450 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Saginaw Valley State University's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$12,500
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$12,500
Books and supplies	$1,190
Other expenses, on campus	$1,300
Other expenses, off campus	$2,920

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (1,323 of them) in 2022–23; 99% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	98%	$9,611
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	35%	$5,094
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	98%	$7,616
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	55%	$5,120

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 72%
Average SAT: 1052
Median ACT: 22
Students with Pell grants: 35%
Graduation rate (6yr): 48%
Freshman retention: 78%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $51,955
Median debt at graduation: $25,000
International undergrads: 180 (2.9%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: None
Students per faculty member: 16 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 42%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 480–600
SAT Math: 440–570
ACT composite: 18–26

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Not considered
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Not considered
Recommendations	Not considered
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Not considered
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Not considered
Personal statement or essay	Not considered
Legacy status	Considered if submitted

First-time applicants: 10,222
Admitted: 7,450
Enrolled: 1,292

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Health & Nursing19%

Business19%

Education13%

Psychology6%

Engineering5%

Criminal Justice5%

Biology & Life Sciences5%

Visual & Performing Arts4%

Kinesiology & Sports Science4%

Communications & Media3%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (32)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	159	$81,713	$81,103national $88,910	$24,613
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	117	$44,653	$48,561national $47,382	$23,683
Social Work	72	$41,037	$56,961national $51,790	$25,371
Criminal Justice and Corrections	69	$46,244	$59,042national $55,378	$25,250
Psychology, General	68	$32,664	$50,066national $50,706	$25,595
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	51	$44,694	$49,761national $51,389	$25,010
Business Administration, Management and Operations	46	$50,471	$65,594national $68,257	$22,250
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	43	$68,771	$70,081national $55,792	$17,500
Marketing	42	$48,549	$58,783national $69,303	$22,500
Accounting and Related Services	40	$58,654	$72,171national $76,194	$26,000
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	36	$38,247	$50,816national $54,562	$23,662
Mechanical Engineering	34	$76,915	$83,873national $92,135	$20,750
Computer and Information Sciences, General	33	$76,774	$90,681national $92,374	$18,250
Public Health	31	—	—national $58,808	$25,000
Business/Commerce, General	30	$44,151	$47,065national $68,407	$24,326
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	29	$41,970	$55,558national $53,072	$31,000
Finance and Financial Management Services	29	$55,678	$65,610national $83,343	$19,500
Communication and Media Studies	27	$39,295	$53,825national $56,359	$23,240
Design and Applied Arts	25	$32,182	$41,864national $51,490	$21,250
Biology, General	20	$35,315	$54,038national $57,214	$27,250
Health/Medical Preparatory Programs	20	$38,951	$53,376national $61,911	$27,000
Computer Systems Analysis	19	—	$72,888national $78,929	$25,000
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	16	$77,325	$90,482national $100,647	—
Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians	15	—	—national $80,890	$24,663
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies	15	$34,036	$50,875national $48,471	$23,250
Political Science and Government	15	—	—national $63,293	$25,750
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	14	—	$65,826national $75,975	—
History	12	—	$42,803national $50,680	$30,050
Fine and Studio Arts	5	$34,181	$42,270national $41,367	—
English Language and Literature, General	3	—	$55,302national $48,590	—
Special Education and Teaching	0	$45,354	$50,078national $50,499	$26,607
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	0	—	—national $55,693	$25,000

Master's degrees (10)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	53	$67,026	$70,336national $71,416	$45,872
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	32	$105,818	$113,545national $120,193	$45,526
Social Work	31	$56,777	$64,391national $65,123	$34,255
Public Health	31	$57,002	—national $82,751	$41,000
Special Education and Teaching	15	$64,241	$65,591national $64,397	—
Health and Medical Administrative Services	13	—	$69,953national $89,981	—
Educational Administration and Supervision	12	$83,704	$82,773national $71,685	$39,075
Public Administration	9	$50,721	$50,633national $81,408	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	7	$52,083	$60,900national $59,916	—
Business Administration, Management and Operations	0	$78,259	—national $103,485	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 49 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 7400 Bay Rd, University Center, MI 48710
Phone: (989) 964-4000
Institutional accreditor: Higher Learning Commission

Is Saginaw Valley State University a reach, target, or safety for you?

Take the 5-minute quiz and see how it stacks up against 1,595 other colleges — ranked by fit and by what your family would actually pay.

Find my matches →

Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

Similar colleges in the United States

Picked by control, selectivity, mix of majors, location and size, from the same data as this page — not a judgement of quality.