North Dakota State University-Main Campus Acceptance Rate, Admissions & Graduation

Let’s walk through what the official data say about this university: what it is, whom it admits, how much it costs, and what happens to the people who enroll. Not to tell you whether it is the right school for your family—that is not something an article can decide—but so you enter that conversation with your child knowing exactly what you are talking about.

What kind of university it is

North Dakota State is a four-year public university with the highest classification that exists for doctoral research activity. According to the Carnegie system, which organizes the country’s universities by what they do, that places it among the most research-intensive institutions in the United States. It is also classified as “highly residential”: in the most recent data for that classification, at least half of its undergraduate students lived in university-owned or university-affiliated housing, and at least 80 out of every 100 attended full time.

It is in Fargo, North Dakota, within Cass County, in the heart of the city’s metropolitan area. If your child were considering living at home, that does not tell you whether the commute is practical: drive the route yourself on a weekday at the time your child would have class. The map almost never shows the real travel time.

There is one identity-related fact worth noting: in the most recent federal file, NDSU is marked as a Land Grant Institution, a historical designation held by only 80 of the 3,012 institutions in this census. It is not a quality label, nor does it tell you what actual support your child will receive there. You see that in things with names: which student center exists, which scholarship applies, and who answers the phone in April.

A large university with few Latino students

NDSU has 11,952 enrolled students—9,791 undergraduates and 2,161 graduate students—which places it among the country’s large institutions, although its size is among the most common when compared with similar schools: neither among the largest nor among the smallest. Above all, this is an undergraduate school: nearly eight out of every nine students are undergraduates, not graduate students.

Here is a fact you need to face directly, without embellishment: among undergraduates, only 3 out of every 100 students were reported as Hispanic or Latino. Among 519 comparable selective public schools, it is among those reporting the lowest share: nine out of ten of those schools report a larger Latino presence than NDSU.

That does not make the school bad, nor does it mean your child has no place there. It is a fact about composition, not a verdict. If your child will be one of the few, the question to ask during the visit is concrete: what Latino student group exists, whether there is a cultural center, and whether anyone in the offices speaks Spanish. Talk with a student who is already there before deciding. The number is for the entire school; your child’s experience in a particular major may look different.

One more fact about composition, without drama: only 35 out of every 100 first-time students were permanent residents of North Dakota. Most come from other states or other countries. Between men and women, however, the campus is almost evenly split: 51 out of every 100 are women, while adult students, ages 25 to 64, are few: 6 out of every 100.

How the academic year is organized

The calendar follows semesters: two terms of about 15 weeks each, with consistent dates for everyone. NDSU says it accepts two forms of prior credit: AP exams and what IPEDS calls “credit for life experiences”—independent study, adult courses, work experience, portfolios, licenses, or certifications, including military pathways. It also reports accepting credit for military training and enrolling high school students in college courses both within and outside formal dual-enrollment programs.

Here is a hard truth that can spare you disappointment: saying that it accepts AP does not mean it awards credit for every exam. It does not say what score is required or whether those credits count toward your child’s specific major. Request the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrollment. Do not include the savings in your budget until you have it in hand.

As for its academic offerings: between July 2022 and June 2023, NDSU awarded 2,131 bachelor’s degrees across 25 fields of study. No single one takes most of the pie: the largest, business and management, represented only 16 out of every 100 degrees awarded that year. Compared with similar schools, NDSU falls in the quarter with the greatest variety of fields of study represented in its report. It is a broad offering, although “25 fields with a row in the report” does not equal 25 majors in the current catalog—a row may have zero degrees awarded that year. Verify the exact program that interests your child.

As for class size: the university reports 18 students for every full-time-equivalent faculty member, an average ratio on the overall scale, but one that places it in the highest quarter among comparable schools—that is, with relatively more students per faculty member than most of its peers. That number does not tell you the actual size of a first-year class. Ask directly.

What else the university offers, specifically

NDSU reports these structured pathways and opportunities: study abroad, cocurricular undergraduate research, a complete program that can be taken only during evenings or weekends, developmental education with and without credit, and teacher preparation and certification pathways, including state approval for initial certification. Their being reported confirms that they exist as programs; it does not tell you whether your child would qualify or how they work in practice. Ask for each by name.

Admission: the door is almost always open

Here we reach one of the facts that should most change how your family invests its energy. NDSU does not technically have open admissions—it reviews parts of the application before saying yes—but in practice, out of every 100 people who applied for admission in the reported cycle, 96 received an offer of admission. Even with that extremely high rate, 307 of the 7,331 applicants did not receive an offer. Among comparable selective public schools, NDSU is among those that accept the most: nine out of ten schools in that group accept an equal or smaller percentage.

Of the nine items that IPEDS recognizes as admission considerations, NDSU marked three as required: the high school transcript, the high school GPA, and completion of the college-preparatory coursework required by the university. The list of what does not count toward the decision is longer: class rank, letters of recommendation, a portfolio or competency exam, work experience, an English-proficiency exam when applicable, and whether a family member attended the university. The application fee, moreover, is $0.

Put plainly: your child’s energy is better spent completing the application on time than worrying about competing for a place. But being easy to enter says nothing about the price or whether most students finish. Those two figures—net price and graduation rate—matter more than the admission figure, and we will examine them.

Here is an interesting fact that should be understood correctly: out of every 100 students NDSU admitted, only 32 ultimately enrolled. The other 68 had the letter in hand and chose something else. Receiving admission is not the same as deciding to attend; that number also does not measure quality or satisfaction, only enrollment. When your child’s letters arrive, put them side by side and compare net price, major, and distance before the deposit deadline.

As for tests: the SAT and ACT are not required. Only 1 out of every 100 enrolled students submitted an SAT score; among those who submitted ACT scores, the median was 22. That low submission rate does not tell you whether the score was used for anything—admission, scholarships, or class placement. Those are separate questions.

As for transfers: of the cohort that entered in 2017, 22 out of every 100 left for another institution without completing at NDSU, a common share among similar schools. At the same time, NDSU receives a substantial number of transfer students from other institutions: 481 in the reported fall. Changing schools is not failing, but if it is a possibility, your child should know beforehand how records are requested and which credits would be recognized, with the course list in hand.

What you will actually pay

At North Dakota State University-Main Campus, among 75 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid, paid the in-state or in-district rate, and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $10,647. Among 69 students in the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $14,166; among 253 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $19,218. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income with their own.

The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (75 students) and the highest-income band (253 students) is $8,571. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $16,461.

$10,647 was the average net price for the lowest-income families in academic year 2022-23. That does not mean it is what your family will pay. It helps you determine whether it is worth requesting the financial aid letter.

The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at this public institution, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average with grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships; it also uses that rate. If your family lives outside the state or district, the calculation is different. Ask about it before applying.

Grants, Pell, and loans: the complete money picture

Aid that does not have to be repaid—grants and scholarships—reached 71 out of every 100 degree-seeking students, with an average of $6,143 per year among those who received it. But the federal Pell Grant, reserved for low-income families, reached only 19 out of every 100. That means a substantial portion of the aid flowing at NDSU is not Pell but comes from other sources: institutional, state, or non-Pell federal aid. The fact that Pell appears infrequently does not close the door to your family: that figure counts those already enrolled, not those who might qualify. Ask the financial aid office directly what a family with your income would receive, and request that example in writing.

Now the debt portion, stated plainly: 53 out of every 100 NDSU undergraduate students received a federal loan that academic year, with an average of $6,213 per student borrower. Compared with similar schools, that share of students with loans is on the high side: seven out of ten similar schools report an equal or smaller share. If your child borrowed a similar amount each year during the program’s four years, the total would be around $24,852, excluding interest. That calculation is settled before the first signature, not at the end. And that average covers only federal loans in the student’s name: it does not include parent PLUS loans, bank debt, or credit cards.

The university reports an installment payment plan for tuition, which is useful when talking with the financial office about how to spread the cost across the year.

Campus life, athletics, and support

NDSU has its own housing, with a reported capacity of 5,563 students, and meal plans with a fixed number of weekly meals in its largest option. It does not require all first-time students to live there, although that does not mean no program has such a requirement. Request the exact rule for your child’s year and program, as well as the deadline for securing a place.

Army and Air Force ROTC are marked in the official report—not Navy—although being marked does not confirm that the program is offered on this specific campus or say anything about available places or scholarships: ask for each by name.

NDSU competes in intercollegiate athletics and is affiliated with the NCAA, with reported membership in football, basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track. If athletics matter to the decision, the membership belongs to the school, not to your child: write directly to the coach and ask about roster availability, division, and whether that sport awards scholarships.

The university offers undergraduate and graduate distance education, although only 6 out of every 100 undergraduate students take all their classes at a distance; the rest combine formats. Confirm the level and major if this matters for your child.

The library operates with paid staff, annual expenditures above the $100,000 threshold recorded by the government, physical and digital materials, and interlibrary lending. Reported support services include combined academic and career counseling, student employment services, on-campus childcare, a postsecondary transition program for students with intellectual disabilities, participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program, a point of contact for veterans and military service members, and a veterans’ student organization. Their being reported confirms that they exist; it does not measure their quality or effectiveness for your child in particular.

How many stay, how many finish

And here we reach the heart of the decision: what happens to the people who enroll.

Of the cohort that arrived in fall 2022 as first-time bachelor’s-degree-seeking students, 77 out of every 100 were still enrolled or had already graduated one year later. It is a retention rate slightly above the midpoint among comparable schools: neither among the best nor the worst, right in the middle.

Graduation tells a story in two chapters, and both matter:

Nineteen points separate one time frame from the other. The data do not say how many semesters each person attended and do not report tuition, rent, or wages. Of the remaining students in the cohort of 2,613 who entered in 2017: 587 transferred to another institution without completing at NDSU, 38 were still enrolled without finishing, and 323 were no longer enrolled at the six-year cutoff, without the report saying why. Before signing, ask in writing how long the program that interests your child typically takes and how its required courses are scheduled.

There is a longer, eight-year measure that includes both first-time students and those who arrived with prior credits: 65 out of every 100 in that cohort had earned an NDSU degree or certificate by the end of the period. Among Pell Grant recipients, the figure was 56 out of every 100—twelve points below the group without Pell. It is a real difference, and worth asking about directly: what advising, emergency aid, and internal scholarship renewal are available specifically for students with Pell Grants. Request that answer in writing.

What you can do with all of this

You now know an important part of the picture: what kind of university North Dakota State is, whom it admits, what it charges on paper and what each family ultimately pays, and what happens to those who enroll. None of this tells you whether it is the right school for your child. That answer also depends on what your child wants to study, what your child has built so far, and what your family can and is willing to pay.

What falls to you, as the adult in this conversation, is concrete: request the financial aid letter before ruling the school out or making a commitment; confirm credit equivalencies, housing rates, and program rules in writing; and bring the net price—not the list price—to the table where your family decides. Your child has a part to play as well: choosing the major, sustaining the effort, and asking about the support available directly to your child.

Neither of you travels the road alone. Each holds a part of the steering wheel.

Note on sources: The information in this article comes from official data reported by North Dakota State University-Main Campus to the U.S. Department of Education’s IPEDS system, corresponding primarily to the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles, except where a different period is indicated. Best College Aid does not represent North Dakota State University-Main Campus or any government agency; this article does not constitute personalized admission advice.