Troy University, in Troy, Alabama, is one of those universities that appears on many families’ lists without anyone really knowing what it is. I am not going to tell you whether it is the right one for your child. An article cannot decide that. But I can show you, with a hand on your shoulder, what official U.S. government data say about it, so that when you sit down with your child to decide, you are not guessing.
What kind of university it is, and where it stands
Troy is a public, four-year university offering study through the doctoral level. The federal government classifies it as a master’s university with large programs, and within the system that categorizes all universities in the country, it labels it as a “primarily nonresidential” institution. That does not mean there are no dormitories—there are, and we discuss them later—it means that, based on how it was measured, either few students lived in institution-provided housing or fewer than half studied full time. The same system also places it among schools that receive many transfer students from other institutions. If your child plans to arrive here after studying somewhere else, ask in writing which courses will count and which will not. The label tells you that many people move between institutions here; it does not tell you how many credits each person transfers in with.
Troy is in Pike County, in a town setting, far from any large urban area. If your family does not live nearby, this has a practical consequence: separately calculate where your child would live and how they would get to campus. The data only locate the school’s address; they do not solve your logistics.
And one clarification worth making early: Troy University does not have any of these three special designations in the federal system: it is not a historically Black college or university, not a tribal college or university, and not a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 universities in this directory, 138 have one of the three. Troy’s not having one says nothing about whom it serves or how your child will feel there. Ask directly: what cultural centers and student organizations exist today.
The school’s real size, and who is part of it
Troy has 13,923 students enrolled in total. It is a large school. But that number combines two different worlds: 10,468 undergraduate students and 3,455 graduate students. If your child is starting a degree program, the number that matters to them is 10,468, not the total. A substantial part of this school consists of people who have already completed a bachelor’s degree and returned for more.
For every 100 undergraduate students, 64 are women. And 33 out of every 100 are between 25 and 64 years old—it is not only a campus of recent high school graduates; it is also a place for people who have already worked, already lived, and are returning to study.
Here is a fact I want to tell you directly, without dressing it up: among undergraduate students, only 5 out of every 100 are Hispanic or Latino. Compared with 519 similar public four-year schools, Troy falls in the lowest quarter of the group on this proportion. It is a small minority. That does not make the school bad, nor would having many Latinos make another one good. It is simply what exists now. If your child will be among the few, the question to ask during the visit is specific: what student groups exist, whether anyone in the office speaks Spanish, and how the people already there feel.
How the academic year is structured, and what counts as credit
Troy operates on semesters: two long terms of about 15 weeks each, with fixed dates for everyone. The school reported that it accepts credit for AP exams, as well as what the government calls “credit for life experience”—learning earned through work, portfolios, previous licenses, or certifications. It also enrolls high school students in college-credit courses through a formal dual-enrollment program, and accepts credit for military training.
All of this sounds like a way to save time and money, and it can be. But here is the hard truth: a school’s reporting that it accepts AP does not mean it will grant credit for every exam with every score. We do not know how many points it requires or whether those credits count toward the specific program your child wants. Ask for the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not budget for the savings until you have it on paper.
As for what can be studied: between July 2022 and June 2023, Troy awarded 2,101 bachelor’s degrees, distributed across 20 program families. The largest was business and administration, with 20 out of every 100 degrees that year—no other field comes close, but it does not account for a majority. It is a broad, distributed offering, not a school built around a single dominant program.
On class size: Troy reports 15 students for every full-time-equivalent faculty member. It is a middle-range figure compared with similar schools. But be careful: this does not tell you the actual size of a classroom. It is an institutional average, not a promise about your child’s class.
The institution also reports structured opportunities such as study abroad, programs that can be completed entirely at night or on weekends, and pathways to teacher certification. It is worth asking for details about each one if your family is interested.
Getting into Troy: what they require, and what they do not
Here is one of the most important data points in this entire article. Troy University reported 7,947 applicants in the 2023 cycle, and offered admission to 7,360. That is 93 out of every 100. It is a very accessible university. Compared with 519 similar public schools, Troy is on the more open side: seven out of every ten of those schools, or more, admitted an equal or smaller proportion of their applicants.
Even so, 587 applicants did not receive an offer. Admission is likely, not automatic. You still need to submit a complete application on time.
Troy does not have open admission: it does review things before saying yes. Of the nine considerations the government asks about, it marked three as required: the high school transcript, high school GPA, and the English-proficiency exam for those to whom it applies. It marked the personal essay, recommendation letters, your child’s class rank, a portfolio, work experience, and whether a family member studied there as not considered. If your child studied outside the United States or attended high school in Spanish, ask today whether they need the English exam and what exempts them from it—it is one of those things discovered late that complicates a plan.
The SAT and ACT are not required. If submitted, they are considered; if not, the application remains just as complete. Of the students who enrolled, only 6 out of every 100 submitted SAT scores, and among them the middle half scored between 490 and 590 in reading and writing, and between 460 and 570 in math. These numbers are for people who were already admitted, not all applicants—that 490 is not a minimum, and that 590 is not a guarantee of anything.
Now, something that almost no family reviews and that is very worthwhile to understand: for every 100 admitted students, only 23 ultimately enrolled. The other 77 had a place and did not take it. Do not read that as a stain—the record does not say why each person made the decision they made, and what others did does not tell you what they will offer you. What I can tell you is this: wait for your letter with the net price, which is the real number the year will cost you, and decide with that in hand.
One data point along the way: almost three out of every ten students who entered a full-time bachelor’s program in 2017 transferred to another school without finishing at Troy. It is a high proportion compared with similar schools. The report does not say why they left, and someone who transfers does not count as a Troy graduate even if they finish their degree somewhere else—that is important to remember when we discuss graduation rates later.
What it costs, in numbers you can see
At Troy University, among 351 first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and paid the in-state or district rate, whose records reported family EFC income of less than $30,000, the average net price was $12,718. Among 196 students from the same population with family EFC income of $48,001 to $75,000, it was $15,109; among 323 students with family EFC income greater than $110,000, it was $14,278. For dependent students, the band adds together their parents’ income and their own.
There is a difference of $1,560 between the average for the lowest-income band (351 students) and the average for the highest-income band (323 students). Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship, the average was $12,504.
$12,718 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 know whether it is worth requesting the financial-aid letter.
The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at this public institution, they use the in-state or district rate. The overall average with grants, when it appears, describes first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional scholarships or grants; it also uses that rate. If your family lives outside the state or district, the calculation is different. Ask about it before applying.
How it is paid for: grants, loans, and what each one means
For every 100 degree-seeking students at Troy, 76 received some scholarship or aid that does not have to be repaid. Among those who received it, the average amount was $6,988 per year. And 44 out of every 100 received Pell, the federal grant for low-income families.
Here is a clarification that prevents costly confusion: the percentage (76 out of every 100) and the average ($6,988) are not multiplied by each other. They are two different calculations, with different denominators. When your aid letter arrives, separate it by hand into three piles: what does not need to be repaid, what must be repaid with interest, and what must be earned through work. Many letters mix them into a single column, and that is where families become confused.
And here is a hard truth, without embellishment: for every 100 undergraduate students at Troy, 66 received a federal student loan. It is the majority. Compared with similar schools, Troy is among those with the most students taking out loans—at least nine out of every ten similar schools had an equal or smaller proportion. The loan averaged $4,831 per year among those who received it. If your child borrows something similar each year for four years, the total comes to around $19,324, not including interest—and that calculation is decided before the first signature, not at the end.
The fact that loans are common here does not determine whether your child will need one. That comes from their aid letter and the difference between the net price and what your family can pay. If debt appears on the letter, ask for the estimated monthly payment before accepting anything.
Troy also offers a tuition payment plan in installments, if that helps organize the family budget.
Campus life: housing, ROTC, sports, and support
Troy does have its own housing, with capacity for 1,976 students on or off campus, and meal plans with a fixed number of meals per week in the largest plan. No student is universally required to live there, but that does not say whether a specific program requires it. Ask in writing for this year’s rate, the deadline to apply for housing, and whether you are guaranteed a space or placed on a waiting list.
If your child is interested in ROTC, Troy reports two branches: Army and Air Force. Navy does not appear. Its being marked on the report does not mean the program is necessarily offered on this campus—ask about that by name before building a plan around it.
In sports, Troy competes in the NCAA, with reported membership in football, basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. That is institutional membership, not a promise of a spot on the team for your child. If they are interested in playing, write directly to the coach in that sport and ask about openings, division, and whether athletic scholarship aid is available.
Troy offers distance education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and 44 out of every 100 undergraduate students took all their classes that way—a high proportion compared with similar schools. But this is for undergraduate study as a whole, not your child’s specific program. One program may be almost entirely online and the one next to it almost entirely on campus—ask about the exact program.
The library has employed staff, physical and digital materials, and interlibrary loan. The institution also reports academic and career counseling services, employment assistance, dedicated support for veterans and military students, and a services page for students with disabilities.
How many stay, and how many finish
Here we reach the heart of what many families want to know, and I am not going to soften the number.
Of the full-time cohort that entered in fall 2022, 73 out of every 100 were still enrolled at Troy or had already graduated one year later. It is a figure slightly below the middle of the comparable-school group—not the best, not the worst.
And graduation: of students who entered a bachelor’s program in 2017, full time, 46 out of every 100 had a Troy degree six years later. At four years—the timeframe most families budget for—the figure is only 28 out of every 100. The gap of 18 points measures how much the proportion with a bachelor’s degree increased between the four-year and six-year marks, for the same cohort. The data do not say how many terms each person attended and do not report tuition, rent, or salary. Before signing anything, ask in writing how long the specific program your child is interested in usually takes and how its required courses are scheduled.
It is, basically, half and half. At six years, 46 out of every 100 had a Troy bachelor’s degree, and 54 did not have one from Troy—some transferred, as we saw earlier, and they do not count here as Troy graduates even if they finished somewhere else.
At eight years, looking at a broader cohort that includes full-time and part-time students, 47 out of every 100 had a Troy degree or certificate. Among those who received a Pell grant, the figure falls to 43 out of every 100—eight points lower than for those who did not receive Pell. Compared with similar schools, Troy falls in the lowest quarter of the group on this eight-year measure.
None of these numbers tells you what will happen to your child. They are results from past cohorts, not a verdict on theirs. But they are the right questions to ask during the visit: what concrete supports exist to help a student finish, whether there is an assigned counselor, whether emergency assistance is available, and whether internal scholarships renew every year. Ask them to answer in writing.
What remains yours to decide
You now know Troy University in greater depth than you did when you opened this page. You know it is accessible at the front door—93 out of every 100 applicants receive a yes—but that finishing takes more time than many families budget for. You know the list price is among the lowest at similar schools, but the gap between resident and nonresident rates is large, and that most students there end up with federal loans. You know that Latinos are few on this campus, that housing and meals are available but not required, and that most of the cohort does not live on campus according to how Carnegie measures this.
None of this tells you whether Troy is the right university for your child. That depends on three things this article cannot know: what your child wants to study and what they have already built to get there, what your family can pay and is willing to commit, and what the two of you, together, decide is worthwhile.
What I can tell you is this: you now have one piece of the map complete, with its real figures and clear limits. Put it together with the other two. From that combination, not from a single data point or a single impression, comes a plan that truly serves your family.
Source note: the information in this article comes from official data from IPEDS and the U.S. Department of Education, corresponding primarily to the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles. Best College Aid does not represent Troy University or the U.S. government, and this article does not constitute personalized admissions advice.